The Vexos Chronicles, Part I: Lost Luster
by son-of-heaven176
Summary: After Volt Luster falls victim to a Vestal Death Bomb, he awakes to find himself in a bizarre new world inhabited by creatures beyond imagination. As Volt hurries to try and find a way back to his own dimension, he finds his every move followed by a criminal organization bent on obtaining Haos Boriates for their own sinister purposes.
1. Prologue

The Vexos Chronicles

Part I: Lost Luster

Disclaimer: This is a work of fanfiction. Pokémon belongs to Nintendo and the Pokémon Company; Bakugan: Battle Brawlers belongs to TMS Entertainment, Spin Master, and Sega Toys. I do not own Pokémon, Bakugan, or anything belonging to their respective franchises.

Thanks go to Storme Hawk and eatpraylove for betaing.

**Prologue**

_Vestal Motherpalace, Throne Room_

_26th Day of the Month Ananeosis, in the 20th Year of the Reign of King Zenoheld (26 Ananeosis, 20 Zenoheld)_

Anticipation was in the air as the Vexos, servants of the Vestal Royal Family and formerly planet Vestal's elite Bakugan brawling team, knelt before King Zenoheld. Hours ago, they had beheld plans for an awe-inspiring battleship with the power to cow any rebellion on planet Vestal and lead Zenoheld towards his goal of conquering all dimensions.

Earlier that year, King Zenoheld had conquered the planet of New Vestroia, the homeworld of a species known as "Bakugan." From there, the Vestals had tamed the Bakugan race, deriving entertainment from the spectacle of Bakugan brawls. However, a group of Earthlings, Vestals, and Bakugan calling themselves the "Bakugan Brawler Resistance" eventually wrenched New Vestroia from Vestal rule.

During the conquest of New Vestroia, the Royal Family had told the populace of planet Vestal that Bakugan were savage, unintelligent animals. But once the Vestal people learned that Bakugan were actually sapient beings, their rapidly growing outrage forced the Royal Family and the Vexos to flee the planet.

Thus it was no surprise that the Vexos had now been summoned to the throne room of the spaceborne Vestal Motherpalace; they were to receive instructions on where they would fit into the king's bid to reclaim his throne.

In the rear of the throne room was a high dais, upon which was the throne where King Zenoheld was currently seated. Standing in front of the dais was his son, Crown Prince Hydron. The Vexos were knelt in a line before the dais.

As one looked towards the throne, Volt Luster was at the far left of the line. Volt had a muscular physique, peach hair, and stood a few inches short of six feet tall. His mainly-white uniform marked him as the Haos brawler of the Vexos.

To Volt's right was Shadow Prove, who was a few inches shorter than Volt and had wild silver hair. He was the Vexos' Darkus brawler, as evidenced by his dark-colored uniform.

To Shadow's right was Mylene Farrow—the Vexos' Aquos brawler, as evidenced by her blue uniform. She was formerly second-in-command of the Vexos before King Zenoheld and Prince Hydron assumed direct command of the team.

At the far right of the line was Lync Volan, whose green uniform marked him as the team's Ventus brawler. Standing a few inches over five feet, the pink-haired sixteen-year-old was the shortest and youngest of the Vexos.

"Time to make those involved with the destruction of the BT System pay for their crimes with the lethal powers of Professor Clay's Alternative Weapon System!" Zenoheld declared, sure of his triumph.

"Alternative?" Mylene wondered.

_This system must be that battleship we saw the blueprints for earlier today_, Volt thought.

The "BT System" — short for "Bakugan Termination System" — was a machine designed to eliminate all Bakugan within a six-thousand-kilometer radius, which Zenoheld deployed after the Resistance had freed New Vestroia. But the Resistance had gone on to foil his revenge plot by destroying the BT System before the king's plans could come to fruition.

Presumably, the king's new machine would not suffer such a fate.

Zenoheld continued, "When it's completed, we will harness enough power to destroy Vestal and Earth! We'll be able to annihilate every living thing that dares to oppose us! We will be unstoppable!" He punctuated his pronouncement with a sweeping arm gesture normally reserved for addressing large crowds.

"Cuckoo, cuckoo," Shadow said at what he thought was a low volume.

"Quiet! He'll hear you!" Mylene scolded.

Fortunately for Shadow, Zenoheld didn't notice, continuing: "They will all weep such bitter tears once they feel the full force of my mighty wrath!"

"Excuse me, sire," Volt interjected.

"Hmm?" The king didn't take kindly to being interrupted.

"The original plan was to get revenge against the Brawlers who got us kicked out of Vestal," Volt said. "But this new mission of yours is wrong. It involves the destruction of innocents. It's not cool to punish people who did nothing to harm us; I won't do it!"

"Just stop it!" Mylene hissed.

"How _dare_ you question me!" Zenoheld growled.

"Disloyal scum!" Prince Hydron exclaimed. He immediately struck Volt, making him fall flat on his back. "You're a _soldier_, Volt, not a policymaker. All you need to do is be quiet and take orders, like a good little doggy."

Volt's eyes narrowed and he clenched his jaw at the statement, but the only sound that came from the Vexos member was a barely audible growl.

* * *

Later that day, Volt went to the Motherpalace's transporter room, a canvas bag over his shoulder.

When Volt entered, however, he did a double-take upon seeing Mylene there waiting for him.

"Do not be foolish, Volt," she said. "You and I both know that he cannot be stopped when he gets like this."

"And you're OK to just sit by and let it happen?" Volt asked.

"I'm not saying I agree with him. I'm just saying that it's pointless to try and stop him; he's too powerful. Too crazy."

"Maybe so, but still, I can't be a part of this."

"You know what will happen if you leave."

"Humph." Without another word, Volt headed for the transporter.

"Take care of yourself, Volt. Every move you make from now on, you'll have to be looking over your shoulder."

"Yeah, I know." Stepping on the transporter pad, Volt dematerialized, to be transported to his home on planet Vestal.

Now standing alone in the transporter room, Mylene said quietly, "Good luck, friend."

* * *

Back in the throne room, King Zenoheld received a report from a security technician that Volt had left the Motherpalace. After telling the technician that the transport was unauthorized, Zenoheld summoned the remaining Vexos back to the throne room. Once they arrived, Zenoheld told them of the situation and chastised Mylene for not stopping Volt.

Still infuriated, the king said, "I just can't believe that insubordinate fool! Hydron!"

"Sire," replied the prince.

"One of your _dogs_ has broken free of his leash! Take care of it! Immediately!"

"Of course, sir."

* * *

Volt had managed to run away from the Vestal Motherpalace, returning to his hometown of Varemed on the surface of Vestal. However, as promised, Zenoheld did not intend for Volt to flee unopposed. Each Vexos' brawling gauntlet had a tracking device that allowed them to pinpoint each other's locations. It was this technology that allowed Prince Hydron to catch up with the wayward Haos brawler.

"So, was it a bittersweet homecoming for you, Volt?" Hydron asked after he caught up with Volt. "This place is even worse than when you left it."

"Still, many people call it home," Volt replied. "Good people, who I can't stand by and watch you destroy. This ends here, Hydron."

"Does this mean that you're leaving the Vexos? I'm the one who pulled you out of this stinkhole, and this is how you repay me? You've got a funny way of showing loyalty, Volt."

"I'm grateful for all you've done for me. But I just can't follow you blindly without question anymore!"

"You know, I've always hated that self-righteous attitude of yours!" Hydron then strapped on his Gauntlet.

"OK, Hydron. So you want to battle me, then? That's fine!" Volt said, strapping his own Gauntlet onto his arm.

"Gauntlet, Power Strike!" the two said in unison. The command triggered the start of a Bakugan brawl, which took place within a pocket dimension where time stood still.

* * *

After the first round of the brawl, Volt was ahead of Hydron, 500 Life Points to 300. Hydron was brawling with Subterra Dryoid, a brown, humanoid Mechanical Bakugan that resembled a ninja. Volt, however, was using Haos Boriates, a white-and-gold samurai-like Mechanical Bakugan whose height dwarfed Dryoid's.

During the second round of the brawl, Dryoid had failed to land a hit on Boriates, while Boriates had taken advantage of its superior size to knock Dryoid onto its back.

"Stay down and walk away," Volt warned. "Otherwise, this ends in tears for you. You just can't win this thing!"

"Silence, you!" Hydron roared. "Dryoid, get up!"

The ninja-like Bakugan lifted itself to a sitting position.

"OK, then," Volt said in a resigned tone of voice.

Dryoid staggered to its feet.

"You're going down this time!" Hydron exclaimed. "Ability, activate: Trance Sword!"

Dryoid shot kunai-shaped energy bolts from slits above its wrists at Boriates. However, the bolts failed to make an impact against Boriates' defenses. Boriates threw a jab at the ninja, who deftly dodged it.

"Ability, activate," Hydron ordered, "Knuckle Vulcan."

Brass knuckles fitted themselves onto Dryoid's fists. Dryoid then shot lasers from the brass knuckles, which proved just as useless as the kunai shots from before. Boriates charged at the ninja and stomped it off-balance. The samurai Bakugan then launched the ninja into the air with a massive uppercut. Dryoid landed to the ground headfirst.

"Dryoid, get up! Right now!" Hydron ordered.

"Your boy is nearly down for the count, Hydron," Volt said. "Ability, activate: Prometheus Cannon!"

Two gun barrels extended from a box on Boriates' left arm. Boriates then aimed at Dryoid, who was within point-blank range. Yellow balls of energy formed at the ends of the gun barrels as the Prometheus Cannon charged its attack.

"Defend yourself with Mars Shield!" Hydron ordered.

The Prometheus Cannon fired.

When the dust cleared, Dryoid was in a kneeling position, surrounded by a brown energy shield; the Mars Shield had completely protected Dryoid from the Prometheus Cannon blast.

"Defensive moves won't save you!" Volt said. "Ability, activate: Olympus Cannon!"

At Volt's order, the Prometheus Cannon extended and its barrels separated, making it look like a rail gun. Sparks danced between and within the gun barrels as the Cannon armed itself.

"Finish him!" Volt ordered.

The Olympus cannon fired, completely overwhelming the Mars Shield and Dryoid.

"Dryoid, no!" Hydron cried out.

"Hydron life force, zero," said a voice from Hydron's Gauntlet. The brawl was over.

But as the pocket dimension dissolved and the smoke cleared, Boriates still stood tall, instead of returning to ball form as was usually the case at the end of a brawl.

"I told you before, Hydron," Volt warned. "Battling, to me, is about survival."

The six-story-tall Bakugan began to advance towards the prince, who cowered before the giant.

Boriates raised its fist.

"You're finished, Hydron!" Volt exclaimed.

Boriates brought down its fist, and Hydron braced himself for the fatal blow…

…only to be shocked as it struck the ground mere centimeters in front of Hydron. While the prince, now on his behind, trembled at the near-death experience, Boriates then shrank back to the size of a marble and returned to Volt's hand.

"Leave now. I never want to see your face again," Volt ordered. He then turned his back on Hydron and headed towards his home.

Hydron, however, would not tolerate Volt's insubordination. Did Volt actually think that he, a mere servant, could disregard King Zenoheld, leave the Vexos, and even _threaten the crown prince_, with no consequences at all? To make his point, Hydron deployed one of the most heinous devices ever conceived by Vestal science: the Death Bomb. Once a Vestal was caught inside the event horizon of the vortex that it created, there was no escape.

Volt stopped in his tracks when the Death Bomb rolled before his feet. When the device activated, Volt cried out in surprise to see his feet sinking into the vortex.

As the ex-Vexos vainly tried to wriggle free of the vortex, Hydron said, "I sentence you to an eternity, Volt, in the far reaches of the dimension!"

"This isn't over, Hydron!" Volt said as he sank further in. "I promise you, one day, you will pay for all the pain and misery that you've brought upon the innocents of the world!"

"SILENCE!" Hydron exclaimed, the only part of Volt now visible being his still-glaring eyes. "Enjoy your suffering!"

* * *

Unlike the interdimensional portals created by Vestal ships, which were bright tunnels, the Death Bomb's vortex was overwhelmingly dark, as if the victim were about to become a giant monster's snack. Whoever had designed the Death Bomb certainly knew how to make even the _voyage_ seem like a foray into hell.

_No one has ever heard what lies on the other side of a Death Bomb's vortex_, Volt thought. _But Hydron had better mark my words; justice will find him soon enough._

_As for me, I'd better prepare for whatever suffering Prince Hydron has in store for me. He better have sent me to some remote planet in some backwater galaxy, because otherwise, he will _not _have seen the last of me!_

**A/N:** And thus begins my rewrite of _Lost Luster_. If you've read the original version, prepare for quite a few changes this time around! And if you're new to the story, welcome! You're in for a great read!

To those who've read the old version, _no spoilers in the reviews, please!_ (You're likely to be wrong.)

All the dialogue in this prologue is from the _Bakugan: New Vestroia_ episode _Volt's Revolt._ Volt's internal monologue and the transition scene at the end, though, are all my idea.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Unknown Dimension

26 Ananeosis, 20 Zenoheld

After a few minutes, Volt started to stir.

How long was I out? he thought. And what is this place?

When Volt opened his eyes, he found himself lying on his back staring at a peaceful, blue sky. As he got up, he noticed that he was in a grassy field, not unlike those of New Vestroia. Trees and mountains could be seen in the distance. Furthermore, the air was breathable, not oppressive in the slightest.

If I wanted to send someone somewhere to suffer, I would have chosen some far-off, barely-habitable planet! Volt thought. But this planet looks almost idyllic! Did the Vestal who invented the Death Bomb plan on just boring the banished to death?

Well, whatever the situation is, it's useless to just stay here. Best to try and figure out what I can about this place.

Volt started to walk forward.

I may no longer be welcome at the Motherpalace, but I know that there are still people who admire me as a brawler. I could easily find a place to lay low. The question is, how am I supposed to get back to Vestal in the first place? With a gasp, he realized, Wait a minute: Is there even a Vestal to get back to? How long have I been out?

Panicking would not help in the slightest, so he took some deep breaths. OK, First priority is figuring out where I am and if I can even get back to Vestal. Then I can worry about Zenoheld's Alternative.

All of a sudden, a strange sight grabbed Volt's attention. It was a small red bug with six legs, the front two being considerably larger than the rest; these ended in small claws. It had big solid-blue eyes and two visible teeth on each side of its mouth. But the weirdest thing about it was that two tiny mushrooms grew out of its back.

Whatever it was, it seemed to have been spooked at Volt's approach, because before he knew it, the bug was shaking its back, causing a huge cloud of orange dust to spread out from the mushrooms. Concluding that the dust was likely a defense mechanism, Volt covered his nose and mouth and started running as far away as he could from the bug and the cloud that it was emitting.

When he felt that he was far enough away, he turned around. The bug was gone. But at the very least, Volt knew that he wasn't on New Vestroia. That bug was no Bakugan; it was way too small for that.

However, a bug that could emit spores from its back did not look like any animal species that he knew of.

* * *

As Volt continued to look around, he ran across a tree that bore a juicy-looking red fruit. At once, Volt's stomach growled, and he remembered that he had not had anything to eat since breakfast that day.

Returning his gaze to the tree, he decided to try his luck with the fruit. He climbed up the tree and tried to pick one of the fruits. However, as he pulled, he encountered more resistance than should have been the case for dislodging a fruit from a tree branch. After a few more tugs, he finally pulled off the fruit—and saw a wicked-looking silver-colored spike.

His eyes shot wide open. Is that what the tree branches here look like?

But Volt did not have to wonder for long. The spike moved, and eventually revealed itself to have been attached to the foreleg of a three-foot-long insect. It looked like a much larger, organic version of Professor Clay's mechanical spies, or "Bees", right down to the head shape and yellow color scheme. Four legs extended from its thorax, the front two ending in those silver-colored spikes. The abdomen had black stripes running around it, and ended in a long stinger.

And the giant insect wasn't alone. With a series of buzzes, it summoned fellow drones to its side.

Volt put the fruit down slowly in an attempt to show that he wasn't a threat.

The bees still continued to approach.

* * *

Several hours and a marathon's worth of running later, Volt hid inside of a bush and was soon relieved to hear the buzzing noises fading away. That made the third time that Volt had attracted the ire of those giant insects. Do those giant bees nest in every fruit-bearing tree on this planet?! Volt asked himself.

Over the course of the past few hours, Volt had managed not only to evade three different swarms of those giant insects, but in the interim, he had also avoided being gored by a furry, horned quadrupedal creature with three tails and being pecked to death by a Vestal-height two-headed bird.

Enjoy your suffering! Hydron had said. Was this what he had meant? Was Volt doomed to wander this planet forever, forced to survive until one misstep got him killed by one of these creatures?

As Volt tried to regain his composure after his latest brush with death, he heard a sound nearby. He got ready to run away in case the giant bees had found him again, but he relaxed when he figured out what the sound was: conversation! There was intelligent life on this planet!

Heading towards the noise, he saw that it came from three humanoids. Volt hid behind a nearby tree and listened in.

* * *

"We won't ask again, old man: where's the breeding ground?"

The question came from an aquamarine-haired male wearing a black long-sleeved shirt that had a red "R" on the front, black pants, a white belt, white boots that extended an inch above the ankle, and white gloves that extended an inch above the wrist. In the man's right hand was a brown belt, with some sort of firearms holstered at opposite points of the belt. The blonde woman next to him wore a similarly-colored outfit, but with knee-high boots and opera gloves where the man had the normal variety.

The two were standing next to a bound old man who was seated on the ground. The old man was wearing an unbelted pair of khaki pants, and a tan vest over a blue dress shirt. He was tied up with a rope binding his arms to his body, another rope tying his wrists together behind his back, and another rope tying his legs together.

The old man replied, "I didn't tell y'all the last five times ya asked, so why would I tell ya now? If y'all hadn't tied me up an' taken my guns, I'd've run the whole lot of y'all outta here by now!"

"Very funny, old man," the aquamarine-haired male replied. "But you should know that it's only a matter of time before we find it ourselves, so you might as well save us the trouble."

"Don't try that line on me, young'un," said the old man. "Y'all are in a hurry 'cuz the parents'll back here any minute! Time is on my side."

The aquamarine-haired man leaned closer to his captive. "Is that so? Who says that we don't have anything planned for them if they do show up?"

The old man snorted derisively. "You did. You two idjits done tied me up, and yer grunts are all over the place. If y'all were so sure y'all had everything under control, y'all wouldn't be wastin' yer time here pesterin' me!"

"We'll see about that," the blonde said smugly. "With or without your help, that egg now belongs to Team Rocket."

* * *

Volt was confused at the exchange. What was "Team Rocket"? And what could be so special about an egg that someone would go through all this trouble to find out where it was?

Seconds later, Volt saw another humanoid running their way. He, too, was wearing a black uniform with a red "R" on the shirt; however, the gloves and boots were gray, probably to denote his inferior status. Attached to his belt were three small balls, half-red, half-white; each ball was slightly bigger than a Bakugan in ball form.

The new one saluted the other two and reported, "Sir, ma'am, one of the teams has found the breeding ground. It's a lake a few kilometers to the northwest of here. The lake was difficult to spot because of all the cliffs around it, but now we've got the egg and are bringing it to the copter as we speak."

Upon hearing the news, the blonde said to the old man, "Well, looks like we're done here. Thanks for nothing, old man."

"Here, you can have your pea-shooters back," the male said, tossing the belt on the ground next to the still-bound old man. The three black-clad humanoids then ran off.

Once Volt judged that the three were far enough away to be out of earshot, he came out of hiding.

The old man squirmed to look in Volt's direction. Seeing that the newcomer was not part of Team Rocket, he cried out, "Hey! You over there! Come over here an' untie me!"

Volt approached the old man and asked, "Who are you?"

"M'name's Kaiser. I'm the proprietor of this here Safari Zone," the old man answered.

"Who tied you up?" Volt asked.

"That would be Team Rocket, that bunch of no-good Pokémon thieves!" Kaiser replied.

"Pokémon?" Volt asked.

"Yeah, but not just any Pokémon. They look specifically for rare and powerful ones, an' Pokémon here in Kanto don't get much rarer, or more powerful, than a Dragonite."

So "Pokémon" must refer to the creatures that live here. If "Pokémon" are this dimension's counterpart to Bakugan, that might spell trouble.

"So that's a … 'Dragonite' … egg they stole?"

"Are ya gonna untie me, or are we gonna play Twenty Questions? Yeah, that's a Dratini egg they done stole, and they're gonna get away with it if I don't stop 'em!"

If this "Kaiser" person is telling the truth, then he might be my best bet for getting some answers. I'd better help him get that egg back from this "Team Rocket."

Before long, Volt had untied the ropes around Kaiser. The old man then reattached his belt.

"Thanks a lot," Kaiser said once he was done. "Now let's see if I can't catch them Rockets before they—"

His sentence was interrupted by the sound of a motor powering up. He then ran off in the same direction that Team Rocket had gone, but did not get far before seeing a flying machine lift off from a considerable distance ahead. After it had risen to a certain altitude, it turned to the onlookers' right and started to fly away.

"Just my luck. They're gettin' away! Now how'm I gonna stop them? How'm I gonna get that egg back before its parents return?"

"Don't worry, Kaiser," Volt replied. "I'll shoot it down."

The old man stared incredulously at him. "How're you gonna do that? Unless ya got an RPG under them clothes or somethin'..."

"Like this." Volt took his Gauntlet from a hidden pocket inside his cape and clamped it onto his left arm with the flat side out.

"Gauntlet, Power Strike!" he commanded. The flat side of the Gauntlet started to glow.

Volt then entered a code into the Gauntlet. A mechanical female voice replied, "Custom Battle Ability has performed a program update."

Volt then pulled what seemed like a white marble with yellow highlights out of his cape. "Bakugan, Brawl!" he yelled, throwing the marble onto the ground.

"Bakugan, Stand!" Volt commanded once the marble stopped rolling.

The marble popped open into a figure that had arms, legs, and a horned head.

"Rise, Haos Boriates!" Volt commanded.

The figure and surrounding area began glowing brightly, and the figure grew exponentially. When the light waned, a sixty-foot-tall robot, predominantly white with gold highlights, stood in the marble's place. Unlike most types of Bakugan, Boriates looked vaguely human, albeit a human wearing an ancient samurai helmet. Golden-colored horns extended vertically from its temples, each horn as tall as the head itself.

"Boriates, I want that flying machine shot down, not blown up. Aim for the tail and fire!" He then pulled a card out of his cape and set it into a slot that had extended from the Gauntlet. The slot closed, and the mechanical voice said, "Ability card set."

"Ability, activate: Prometheus Cannon!" Volt ordered.

Two gun barrels extended from a box on Boriates' left forearm. Boriates aimed the cannon at the helicopter and fired.

The yellow lasers that issued from the cannon barrels grazed the helicopter's tail. Gray smoke began pouring from the tail, and the helicopter went into a tailspin.

Kaiser watched the entire scene with mouth agape. Once he saw the helicopter begin to descend, he said, "Congratulations, ya shot it down. But how're we gonna get ta them before they run away?"

As if on cue, Boriates bent down and lowered its right hand onto the ground.

Volt jumped onto the outstretched hand and said, "Climb on!"

"What?!" Kaiser exclaimed. "Ya want me ta get onto that thing?"

"Do you want to get that egg back or not?" Volt replied.

At that, Kaiser reluctantly climbed on. Boriates lifted its hand towards its left shoulder. Once the two humanoids were on its shoulder, Boriates started walking towards the downed helicopter.

* * *

When Boriates arrived at the crash-landing site, Volt noticed that the blonde that he saw before was talking to one of the underlings, who was tightly clutching on to some kind of box. When Boriates stopped moving, Volt called out, "Team Rocket!"

The blonde turned towards Boriates. "Who are you?"

Kaiser—who had been lying prone throughout the ride—stood up at once and crowed, as if he had shot down the helicopter himself, "Team Rocket, this robot here's Chaos Four-Eyed Hades—"

"That's 'Haos Boriates,' sir," Volt corrected.

"Whatever," Kaiser replied before turning back to Team Rocket. "And unless y'all want another taste of the power that shot down yer helicopter, gimme back that egg!"

"I know that you're gun-crazy, but what were you thinking?" Aquamarine said. "You're lucky we stored that egg in a shock-proof case, or else your stunt would've shattered it!"

The blonde, however, was far less convinced. "Are you seriously believing what's clearly an illusion in front of you? Think about it: Where could they have hidden a sixty-foot robot in the Safari Zone?" Turning to the underlings, she said, "Whoever has a Pokémon with Foresight, get to the bottom of this!"

At that, one of the grunts took one of the tiny balls from his belt. After he pressed a button in the middle, the ball expanded to about twice its previous diameter. The grunt then threw the ball to the ground, commanding, "Noctowl, use Foresight!"

When the ball hit the ground, it split along its center line and disgorged a mass of white plasma. In less than ten seconds, the mass coalesced into some sort of avian with plumage in various shades of black and brown and a crest on its face that looked like a unibrow. The bird, presumably Noctowl, hooted once. Beams of red light emerged from its eyes and swept over Boriates, Volt, and Kaiser. Whatever the technique was supposed to accomplish, the beams did nothing.

Now trembling, the blonde said, "What? That thing's real?!"

Aquamarine replied, "Well, they say that the bigger they are, the harder they fall."

Volt had Boriates help him and Kaiser get back onto the ground.

Meanwhile, Aquamarine picked up a ball from his belt and threw it to the ground, saying, "Go, Aggron!"

The mass of plasma that emerged from that ball coalesced into a seven-foot-tall bipedal dinosaur with dark-grey armor plating throughout, three claws at the ends of each of its limbs, and a silver head with horns extending from holes in the sides of the forehead.

"Aggron, use Thunder!" Aquamarine ordered.

At the command, a spark of electricity formed in between Aggron's horns. Three seconds later, a massive burst of electricity issued from Aggron, heading straight to Boriates …

… to no effect. Boriates didn't even flinch.

"What?" exclaimed Aquamarine. "It's a giant robot! How can electricity not affect it? Aggron, try Thunder again!"

Aggron loosed yet another bolt of Thunder, this time aiming for Boriates' head. The bolt made contact, but Boriates did not so much as move.

"So, immune to electricity, is it? Well, let's see how it likes a little Earthquake!" said the male.

At the word "Earthquake," Aggron jumped. A shockwave rumbled across the ground when it landed. However, the shock wave proved too small to make Boriates even flinch, much less lose its balance.

"Oh come on!" Aquamarine groused.

"Now that you see that your attacks are useless against Boriates, why don't you just give up that egg? It's clear that you cannot win," Volt said.

"You want it?" said the blonde. The box was now in her hands; she had taken it from the underling in all the confusion. Throwing it towards the duo, she said, "Then have it!"

Volt and Kaiser scrambled to get the box before it crashed into the ground. Before the box could land on the ground, Volt dove for the box, arms outstretched. The box landed in his arms, and Volt kept them elevated as his slid across the ground for about four feet.

While Volt and Kaiser were scrambling for the box, however, the blonde had ordered a retreat.

"You don't have to tell me twice!" one of the grunts said in reply.

"I knew that Kaiser was crazy, but where did he get that giant mecha?" said another.

"No one said that we should have brought a mecha to this mission!" cried a third.

By the time Volt and Kaiser recovered their wits enough to look for the Rockets, the agents had disappeared in a nearby wooded area.

"Well, it looks like them Rockets got away," said Kaiser. "But let's see if we at least got what we came for."

Opening the box, Kaiser found an eighteen-inch-tall egg, blue all over with a picture of a white fin on each of the sides.

"Yep, this is the egg we were lookin' for," Kaiser said. Inspecting the egg, he added, "Good, it didn't get a scratch. Now let's bring it back ta its nest before its parents get home."

A/N: The Custom Battle Ability, whose only appearance is in Volt's Revolt, is an ability that is activated from the Gauntlet. It nullifies any subsequent abilities that the opponent tries to play, and allows the user's Bakugan to stay out of ball form even when the battle is over. For the purposes of this fic, the Custom Battle Ability also allows a Bakugan to appear full-size without the necessity of starting a Bakugan brawl. That's why I had Volt activate it before he summoned Boriates.

As for Kaiser, he's an actual character from the Pokémon anime. He's the proprietor of the Kanto Safari Zone and appears in episode 35, The Legend of Dratini. It did not air in the US because of Kaiser's use of guns in the episode.

To anyone about to review, please remember: no spoilers of future chapters!


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

_Safari Zone_

_26 Ananeosis, 20 Zenoheld_

Taking another ride on Boriates' shoulder, it was not long before Volt and Kaiser reached the Dragonite breeding ground: a lake partly surrounded by cliffs, with groups of stone spires jutting out from the lakebed. Upon arriving at the lakeside, Boriates let the two down on the ground. Volt, being the one more used to riding on Boriates, had been holding the shock-proof case with the egg inside.

"Now, where should we put this egg?" asked Volt, taking the egg out of the case.

"Do you see them groups of spires juttin' outta the lake?" asked Kaiser. "Those're actually the Dragonite's nests. Each one of 'em holds one egg. This egg that Team Rocket just stole was the first one laid by the Dragonite this year. Just dive down an' put the egg inta one of the nests, an' let's get outta here."

Before Volt could reply, however, he heard cries coming from above. The cries came from a pair of creatures flying towards the lake: huge orange-skinned dragons with off-white underbellies. Their wings, which had a teal membrane, looked a little too small for their bodies, but he wasn't exactly in a position to judge them for it. Each dragon had two long, thin antennae extending from their foreheads. A small horn grew out of the crown of each dragon's head.

_These must be the "Dragonite" Kaiser was talking about_, Volt realized. _I hope they're friendlier than the other species on this planet._

All of a sudden, the pair of Dragonite sped forward in tandem. Blue dragon-shaped auras materialized around each of them; the Dragonite pair's target was unmistakably Boriates.

_Apparently not_.

When the dragons collided with Boriates, the impact generated a shockwave that nearly toppled Volt and Kaiser. Due to the defensive boost granted by the Custom Battle Ability, Boriates stood fast. However, the unfazed robot did not deter the dragons in the slightest.

One of the Dragonite sped towards the ground. The other collected energy towards its mouth, then and fired it at Boriates' face. Boriates raised its hand to block the attack, then tried to swat the Dragonite away as if it were a fly. Yet with a flap of its wings, the dragon ascended high enough to dodge the giant hand coming towards it.

The Dragonite circled once, then dove at Boriates' head. To Volt's surprise, its right arm became enveloped in lightning as it dove. However, before the Dragonite could land its punch, a powerful backhand from Boriates knocked it out of the sky.

Enraged, the Dragonite generated the blue aura again and started rushing toward Boriates, but Boriates caught the Dragonite midflight and threw it into the lake.

* * *

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to everyone, the blonde and her partner had followed them to the lake, and were now hiding behind some foliage.

"Cass, you're such a genius!" said the male. "Once they put that egg back and return home, we'll snatch it with no one being the wiser!"

"That's why _I _make all the plans!" Cass replied. She looked out at the lake, then did a double take and gestured to a point above them. "Uh...Butch?"

"Yeah, Cass?" replied the male.

"What … is … that?"

Butch followed Cass's gesture. The two Rockets were dumbstruck at the sight: that same giant mecha from before was here as well! And more than that, it seemed to be able to stand unfazed before the assaults of an enraged Dragonite that had just burst from the lake with an angry roar.

"Uh, Cass?" Butch said.

"Yeah?"

"We don't have any mechas like that at HQ, do we?"

"No, Butch," Cass said breathlessly. "We don't."

* * *

Meanwhile, the remaining dragon was confronting Volt. After it landed in front of him, it pointed to the ground and barked authoritatively.

"Hold up, there," said Volt. "I am not trying to steal your egg."

"BOW! Bow bow!" the Dragonite barked, gesturing again at the ground.

"No problem, Dragonite," Volt said. Slowly bending his knees, Volt placed the egg on the ground and backed away a few steps. "I came here to give it back to you in the first place."

The dragon tilted its head in confusion. It then growled at Volt and barked some more, forcing him to back up even farther.

Watching the interaction, Kaiser noticed a faint detail on the Dragonite's horn. At once, Kaiser's eyes grew wide.

"Dragonite?" Kaiser said warily.

"Bow?" Dragonite turned towards the source of the voice. Its expression softened once it noticed Kaiser. After giving one last bark to Volt, it walked towards the old man, who then petted its snout.

"Nice ta see ya again, old friend," Kaiser said. "An' congratulations on yer new baby." Gesturing towards Volt, he explained, "This guy here came ta _return_ that egg ta ya after Team Rocket stole it."

At the sound of the words "Team Rocket," Dragonite snarled.

After a few seconds, it turned to Volt and bowed down, giving a contrite "Bow" in apology.

"No worries, Dragonite," said Volt, petting the dragon's snout. "I understand how it must have looked. But do me a favor, would you?"

"Bow?"

"Could you please tell your mate to stop attacking my Bakugan? It's an impressive display of power, but it won't do any real damage."

The Dragonite barked in affirmation, then flew off to intercept its mate.

Meanwhile, Volt asked Kaiser, "How did you get it to stop being angry at me?"

"It's a long story, but the short version is that that Dragonite an' I have been friends for a long time. Most likely ya didn't notice it, bein' scared an' all, but there was a cross-shaped scar on the right side of her horn. I dunno how she got that scar, but that's how I recognized her. Yer lucky that _she's_ the mother, otherwise we woulda had ta run outta here. Dragonite can be very protective of their eggs."

"One more thing," Volt replied. "She doesn't seem too fond of Team Rocket, either; she snarled at the mere mention of their name."

"She ain't 'fond' of Team Rocket? Now that's an understatement! A few years ago, they almost caused a human ta drown in this very lake! Of course she ain't 'fond' of Team Rocket!"

Volt then turned his attention back towards the sky. The father Dragonite, cloaked once again in the blue aura, was rushing towards Boriates yet again. Its trajectory seemed to be towards one of Boriates' knees.

However, his mate flew right in front of him, extending her wings and arms in a defensive stance.

The father immediately dropped the aura and took an upright position before his mate. "Bow?" he queried, a puzzled look on his face.

The mother then gave a series of barks, growls and gestures; Volt was hoping that she was telling her mate that everything was alright.

The father replied with another confused "Bow?"

The mother repeated the sequence of barks, then flew deliberately toward the lakeshore. Her mate followed a moment or two later.

When the Dragonite landed, the mother resumed her explanation to her mate, gesturing first towards Kaiser, then towards Volt.

The father looked at his mate, then at the egg standing undisturbed on the ground. He seemed to understand that his egg wasn't in danger, because he turned toward Volt and bowed politely. Then he picked up the egg, barked a grateful "Ba-ooh!" and plunged into the lake.

The mother was just about to follow its mate into the lake when Kaiser interrupted it. "Hey, Dragonite."

"Bow?"

"Thanks for believin' in me, old friend."

"Bow," it replied sheepishly.

"An' one more thing."

"Bow?"

"From now on, try takin' turns foragin'. That way, y'all won't leave the egg defenseless every time y'all go off to eat."

The mother Dragonite nodded, barked proudly, and dove into the lake with an almighty splash.

As soon as the Dragonite entered the lake, a familiar male voice rent the air: "_Come on!_"

"What was that?" Kaiser said, turning around.

"You idiot! We _still_ could have gotten that egg if you hadn't just opened your big mouth!" said another voice.

"Not you again!" Volt said, now looking at the two Team Rocket members from before, who had come out of hiding.

"Yes, us again: prepare for trouble!" said the blonde.

The sound of a gunshot rang out.

"Uh, Cass, maybe we should leave the motto for later!" said the male.

"Darn right ya should; I already got enough of yer motto fer one day!" Kaiser said, a smoking pistol in his right hand pointing straight up. Turning to Volt, he said, "Hey, you! How much longer can that robot of yers stay out?"

Volt took a look at his Gauntlet. "Not much longer."

"Do ya think that ya can at least bring these two ta where they had me tied up?" Kaiser asked.

"No problem," Volt answered. "Boriates?"

Boriates grabbed the two Rockets in its fist.

"Perfect," said Kaiser. "Now let's see if we can get y'all to the authorities."

**A/N: **The reference to Team Rocket agents almost causing a human to drown is another call back to Episode 35. In a bid to capture the Pokémon in the lake, which included a Dratini, Meowth threw in an electric bomb, which would zap all the Pokémon in the water and cause them to rise to the surface. Ash jumped in to retrieve the bomb and almost drowned in the process, until he got saved by a Dragonair, which in this story is now the mother Dragonite.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

_Safari Zone_

_26 Ananeosis, 20 Zenoheld_

After Boriates returned to where Volt had first met Kaiser, the two men used the rope to bind the Rocket members' hands together. Kaiser then had Volt wait for him at a house that appeared to be at the edge of the Safari Zone; it was adjacent to a long wooden fence and a gate topped with a sign that had strange writing on it. Kaiser, meanwhile, marched the Rockets off to the nearest city at gunpoint. When Kaiser and the Rockets were out of sight, Volt returned Boriates to ball form.

The sun was just starting to dip below the horizon by the time Kaiser returned from the city and unlocked the door to the house. Immediately inside was some kind of reception area with various pictures and plaques lining the walls.

Kaiser entered the house and shut the door behind him. He then went behind the desk and said, "Alright, let's get down to business. Who are ya, an' how'd ya get inta the Safari Zone without passin' by the front gate?"

Volt answered, "My name is Volt, and you can say that I was … transported here."

"How do ya mean? Do ya have a Psychic Pokémon on ya or somethin'?"

"No. A wormhole dropped me here."

"A wormhole? What, are ya some type of alien or somethin'?" Kaiser asked jokingly.

"Actually, yes."

Volt would have understood if Kaiser had laughed at him. He would have even understood a derisive snort. But Kaiser's reaction was so far outside the pale that Volt had no idea how to react: before Volt knew it, he was staring down the barrel of one of Kaiser's pistols.

"An alien. _Right_. If'n ya don't start tellin' me the truth, I swear yer gonna get a taste of my Thunderbolt!"

"I _am_ telling the truth!" Volt replied. "Think about it: I get inside your Safari Zone without going through the front door or busting through the fence, which I'm sure would have tripped some kind of alarm. I summon a giant robot from a marble no bigger than the one that spat out that armored creature that tried to zap it—what was its name? 'Aggron'? Does it look like I'm from this planet?"

Kaiser was silent for what seemed like an eternity.

Volt became nervous. Should he try to take advantage of the lull to disarm the old man? Then again, this planet and its inhabitants were unfamiliar; Volt knew nothing of the old man's abilities. What if this humanoid had a strong grip? Or reflexes faster than a Vestal's? Was it even possible for him to turn the tables on Kaiser?

Finally, Kaiser put the pistol back in its holster. "Yer either crazy, a good liar, or tellin' the truth. Ya seem like ya got a good head on yer shoulders, so if yer crazy, yer doin' a good job hidin' it."

Volt released a breath that he did not remember holding.

"But tell me this: if yer not from around here, what are ya doin' here? If'n this is some kinda invasion, sendin' only one person seems like a weird way ta do it."

Volt shook his head. "This is no invasion. I'm here because I've been banished."

"Banished?" asked Kaiser. "As in, ya got kicked outta yer world?"

"That's right," replied Volt.

"And ya have no idea where ya are?"

"That would be the idea of being 'banished,' wouldn't it?"

Out came the pistol again. "But if ya've been banished, then that means that yer some kinda fugitive! _And_ ya still got that giant robot with ya? I don't know if'n everyone on _yer_ planet has some kinda giant-robot servant, but we ain't got _nothin'_ like that in Kanto!"

"Wait a second!" Volt exclaimed, hands raised in a gesture of surrender. "Let me explain!"

"Then start explainin'," Kaiser said, cocking the hammer of his pistol. "An' I _better_ like what ya gotta say."

Without even taking the time to take a breath, Volt launched into his explanation: "As I said, I am not from this planet. I am from a planet called Vestal. I was a member of the Vexos, an elite group of Bakugan brawlers at the service of King Zenoheld."

"That's the fourth time I heard ya use that word, 'Bakugan,'" Kaiser interrupted. "What is a 'Bakugan,' anyway?"

"Bakugan are creatures from yet another planet, called New Vestroia. We Vestals used to pit them against each other for sport, until word came out that they were actually intelligent creatures. My Boriates is actually a mechanical Bakugan; Bakugan from New Vestroia are organic, just like you, me, or the Pokémon."

"So are all Bakugan are as big as yer 'Bore … eye … yay … tees'?"

"They're not all Boriates' size, but Bakugan are quite large in general," Volt replied. "So, as I was saying, I was a servant of King Zenoheld. However, one day, the people rose up against him, forcing him—and us—to flee the planet.

"Of course, the king was not going to just take a rebellion like that quietly. I just don't agree with _how_ he is planning on reclaiming the throne. Even now, King Zenoheld is building a giant battleship powerful enough to destroy the entire planet! I spoke out against him and left the Vexos, and for that, I got banished.

"So right now, all I need are some answers, and if possible, a way back home."

After mulling it over for a few moments, Kaiser said, "If'n I hadn't seen yer 'Boriates' in action, I woulda said that you were completely outta yer mind. Aliens? Kings? Bakugan? Yet ya don't sound like yer lyin'. An' I doubt that a criminal would go so far outta his way ta help a total stranger. I dunno how much I can help, but at the very least…" Kaiser uncocked the hammer, holstered the pistol, and extended his hand. "Allow me ta properly introduce myself. My name is Kaiser, an' welcome ta planet Earth."

After shaking Kaiser's hand, Volt said, "Wait a second. Did you just say, 'Earth'?"

"Yeah, 'Earth'. Why?" replied Kaiser.

"Because I've been to a planet called 'Earth' once before, and if this is the same planet, it looks like I may have a real chance at finding a way back home."

"Whaddya mean by that? I know that there are some kooks out there that believe that Pokémon like Clefairy and Starmie came from outer space, but I doubt that even the government woulda been able ta keep it a secret if we could've gotten in contact with an actual alien civilization!

"But unless banishment means something different fer you Vestal-folk, don't it mean that you ain't allowed ta return home—usually on pain of death?"

"Yes, it does," Volt replied, "but there are some people back on Vestal who wouldn't mind harboring a fugitive from King Zenoheld. As for how I can find a way back home, I might know someone who could help me out."

Kaiser yawned. "Well, even if ya do know someone, he's most likely gonna be asleep by now, an' I don't know about you, but"—Kaiser yawned again—"all that business with Team Rocket is startin' ta take its toll. I'm all tuckered out. I'll show ya where ya can get some shut-eye, an' we can continue in the mornin'."

"After all that happened today, sleep sounds like a good idea," Volt replied, then stifled a yawn of his own. "Thank you for believing me. You won't regret it."

Kaiser brought a hand to his pistol. "I better not."

**A/N:** In case anyone was confused, "Thunderbolt" is one of Kaiser's pistols. He referred to his pistol as his "Thunderbolt" when he was explaining the Safari Zone rules to Ash and company in Episode 35.


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

_Kanto Safari Zone_

_26 Ananeosis, 20 Zenoheld_

That night, Kaiser led Volt to one of the guest rooms that he kept available for Trainers who ended up in the Safari Zone late.

However, sleep eluded Volt, as his brain was still buzzing. Could he have actually had the good fortune to have landed on Earth? Volt knew that the Death Bombs' specifications were kept secret, but surely the Royal Family—and by extension, the Vexos—should have known if they had stumbled across their banishment devices' endpoint! Perhaps this was a parallel universe? Or maybe he was thrown across _time_ as well as space.

Volt yawned loudly. Traveling across dimensions, only to dodge death at every turn right after, could take its toll on any Vestal. Thus Volt headed straight to bed.

As he slept, he dreamt of his return to Vestal.

_After Volt had left the Motherpalace, he had teleported back to his hometown of Varemed. Though it was a dog-eat-dog slum, it was home nonetheless._

_Volt's mother—no fan of the Royal Family—had told him that Varemed was actually a bustling suburb long ago, and it had housed many a worker from Archia, the planetary capital. Much of the modern-day ruins hinted at its more high-class past: many an abandoned building had once been a restaurant, a theater, or even a quaint one-family house._

_As Volt looked up, he saw the various walkways and high-rises that composed the upper city, Harburg. As the overpopulation of Vestal began to take its toll, Vestal architects used every cubic meter that they could. Thus modern Varemed came to stand literally under another city, whose elevated walkways ensured that the upper-class Harburg citizens never had to sully themselves by entering the slums that were literally under their notice._

_The years of neglect clearly showed all over the Varemed streets. Litter, unheard-of elsewhere on Vestal, was a commonplace sight in the slum. However, there had also seemed to be areas where progress was evident. Volt almost got lost as pieces of graffiti that he had long used as landmarks had now been painted over. However, he eventually made it to the place that he had called home for many long years._

_As Volt entered the threshold of the house, he could hear the voices of his younger siblings, who had no idea that their big brother was coming to visit._

"_Wow, Volt, welcome back!" That was his little brother Watt, who had been eager to tell all his friends that his big brother was the best Haos brawler in all of Vestal, and would be joining the Royal Family's brawling team._

"_Hey, guys! Volt's back!" That came from Amp, the littlest, who was always full of wide-eyed wonder. He had cried profusely at the thought that his big brother would have to leave town—and he cried even more when he heard that Volt would be going off-planet to help oversee the colonization of New Vestroia._

"_You're just in time to eat." Pink-haired Lumen, the second-oldest of the Luster kids, was in the kitchen, pan of food in hand. She took after her mother, both in her cooking and in her fussiness over her little brothers._

"_Awesome; let's throw him a party tonight!" Ohm, Lumen's twin brother. To the extent that Lumen was serious, Ohm was mischievous. If there was ever trouble in the house, it was almost certain that Ohm was the ringleader, with Watt and Amp as his partners in crime._

_For a moment, Volt was home, among family. But as soon as the illusion came, it faded away. There had never been any one there; the voices were all figments of his imagination. Volt's steps had taken him not to a bustling home, but to a structure that was a shell of its former self. Not too long after Volt left Vestal, many of his rivals took the opportunity to vent their frustrations on his family. _This place used to be home, _Volt thought as he looked upon his surroundings, _but now, it's just full of ghosts.

"_So, was it a bittersweet homecoming for you, Volt?"_

_Volt looked behind him. There, in his house, was Prince Hydron, a smug smirk on his face._

"_Too sad that you'll never see them again. Actually, you'll never see anything again!"_

_All of a sudden, Volt felt himself sinking into the ground. Hydron had not deployed a Death Bomb, but clear as day, there was a vortex underneath Volt's feet!_

"_Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Did you really think that you stood a chance against us! Against _me? _Say goodbye to Vestal, traitor! Oh, and don't worry about your family. The Alternative will take really good care of them!"_

_Hydron's cackling was the last thing that Volt heard before he sank below the floor of his home._

Volt woke up with a start.

He looked outside of his window. It was still dark, and the moon was high in the sky.

This was going to be a long night.

* * *

_Kanto Safari Zone_

_27 Ananeosis, 20 Zenoheld / March 28, 20—_

The next day, Volt and Kaiser were in Kaiser's living room. Volt had asked Kaiser about the basics of telling time on Earth. Once again, Volt had an eerie feeling that there was some connection between this planet and the one he had been on before, as much of the terminology was familiar.

However, the two men were now picking up their conversation from where they had left off the previous day.

"As I said, this here's the Safari Zone," Kaiser said. He pulled out a map of Kanto, laid it on the coffee table, and indicated a point near the southern edge of the mainland. "Right here. We're north of Fuchsia City in the Kanto region."

"Wait a second," Volt said. "Do you have a world map?"

"Sure, but whaddya need that fer?"

"I told you that I may have been on this planet before. Now I want to make sure. Do you have a world map?"

"Uh…sure. Lemme get one out."

After a few minutes, Kaiser pulled out a world map, pointing out where the Kanto region could be found on it.

_Some of these landmasses look different than I remember, but unless I'm mistaken, this _is _Earth! _Volt thought. _Was this a major oversight on Zenoheld's part? Or maybe some wandering ship intercepted the Death Bomb's vortex and threw me off course?_

Aloud, Volt said, "This definitely looks like the same planet I've been to. Are you _sure_ that this is the first time you ever heard of Bakugan, Kaiser? Perhaps maybe some kid used the term before?"

"I told ya, yer the first person I ever heard talkin' about Bakugan!" Kaiser replied irritably. "An' this place is usually a hub of conversation, so I easily pick up on all the latest fads. In fact, if today weren't a Sunday, there woulda been so many people comin' in an' out, I wouldn't've had the time ta be holdin' yer hand like this!"

_But if this _is _the same planet, you _should _have heard of Bakugan! _Volt thought. _According to the stories, Bakugan appeared all over Planet Earth after Naga attempted to get to the core of old Vestroia and caused a rift between the dimensions—the same rift that brought the Bakugan to Vestal._

_Then again, all the Bakugan _did _leave Earth after Drago defeated Naga, so it would have been over three years since a Bakugan was ever seen on this planet—assuming that I haven't been thrown across time. Perhaps the old man just forgot about them. Looks like if I really want to know what's going on here, there's only one place to go._

Aloud, Volt said, "Never mind. When I was last on Earth, I was near a city called Wardington. Do you know how to get there?"

"Well, there ain't no 'Wardington' in Kanto, so if'n ya need directions on how ta get back home, I ain't gonna be much help in that department," Kaiser answered. "But I _might_ be able to point ya ta some place where ya _can_ find help."

Returning to the Kanto map, Kaiser said, "We're over here in the Safari Zone." Pointing to another spot on the map, Kaiser said, "The biggest city in Kanto is here, Saffron City. There's a train station there connectin' Kanto ta Johto, the next region over. Someone there might be able ta point ya in the direction ya need ta go.

"Ya could also try Vermillion City, which is south of Saffron City an' closer ta here. Actually, now that I think about it, I suggest that ya go there first. Vermillion City's Kanto's largest seaport, and it gets ships that travel all over.

"An' now that I'm really thinkin' of it, this 'Wardington' sounds like it could be a city in Unova. Vermillion City may just be yer ticket … ta …"

Kaiser's train of thought was interrupted by a sound like a tank rumbling towards the Safari Zone. As the two headed outside, they saw a giant robot heading towards the Safari Zone gates. It was forty feet tall and had a vaguely humanoid shape, except that it had no neck, a very large midsection, and tank treads instead of legs and feet. Its arms ended in giant red funnels. Most of the machine's body was pitch-black, except for a red "R" emblazoned on its chest.

"Not them guys again!" exclaimed Kaiser.

**A/N:** In the _Bakugan _anime, Volt's hometown was never given a name. If you've read the old version of _Lost Luster_, you might remember that I gave it a different name. I've grown not to like it, hence the change here in the rewrite.

Once again, to give credit where credit is due, the dream sequence is based off of the homecoming scenes in _Volt's Revolt_.


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

_Kanto Safari Zone_

_27 Ananeosis, 20 Zenoheld _/ _March 28, 20—_

"Whaddya want this time, Team Rocket?" Kaiser yelled at the machine. "Y'all must not be very smart; don't y'all remember that I done told the parents never ta leave that egg unguarded?"

The visor serving as the robot's "eyes" retracted, revealing the blond-haired female and the aquamarine-haired male from the previous day.

"Well, thanks to our Suck-of-a-Punishment Mark III, that egg's still as good as ours," Aquamarine said. "This bad boy has enough capacity to suck up both Dragonite, their egg, _and_ half that lake all together!"

"What are _you_ doing here?" Volt asked. "I thought Kaiser turned you in to the authorities!"

"You two should have been more thorough," the blonde said. "We weren't the only ones in the Safari Zone yesterday, remember?"

"So yer goons done busted ya out, huh?" Kaiser said.

"Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner!" said Aquamarine.

"I see that you've still got that musclehead with you, Kaiser," the blonde added. "Good, since our objective is not just that Dratini egg, but that robot that you had with you yesterday. Now where are you hiding it?"

"Like I'd tell you even if I knew!" Kaiser retorted.

"Now leave, or else prepare for trouble!" Volt added.

"'Prepare for trouble?' That's rich! You have no idea who you're talking to, do you?" Cass said. She then intoned, as if reading a poem: "'Prepare for trouble' is _my_ line!"

"'And make it double': that line's mine," Aquamarine replied, picking up on the cue.

"To infect the world with devastation!"

"To blight all peoples in every nation!"

"To denounce the goodness of truth and love!"

"To extend our wrath to the stars above!"

Volt took advantage of the distraction and entered the code to activate Boriates' Custom Battle Ability.

"Cassidy!" said the blonde.

"And Butch, of course!" said Aquamarine.

"We're Team Rocket, circling the Earth all day and night!"

"Surrender to us now, or you'll surely lose the fight!"

"Raticate!" A giant rodent with huge front teeth appeared out of nowhere to stand between the two humans. It disappeared a second later as a mass of red plasma. Volt guessed that it was returning to one of those red-and-white balls he saw the previous day.

"So, I finally learn your names: Cassidy and Butch," said Volt.

"THE NAME'S BU—wait a second; you got it right!" said Butch.

"Of course," said Volt. "How can I mess up a one-syllable name?"

"You have no idea," Butch deadpanned. "'Batch,' 'Biff,' 'Botch,' you name it, they've said it. I'm surprised that no one's yet to call me 'Bi—'"

"Butch!" Cassidy interrupted. "This is no time to complain. We've got a job to do!"

"Not so fast!" said Volt. "I may not have a rousing motto, but allow _me_ to introduce myself. I am the Greatest Lumina Battler, the Light Demon, Volt Luster! And this," he said, pulling Boriates' marble from his cape, "is what's going to stop you from going any farther."

"What's that?" said Butch. "A marble? Hey, look, Cass, the guy's planning to trip up a mecha … with a _marble!_" The pair began to laugh.

Ignoring the duo's laughter, Volt threw the marble to the ground, yelling "Bakugan, Brawl!"

"Huh?" Butch said as the pair stopped laughing.

"Bakugan, Stand!" Volt commanded once the marble stopped rolling. The marble popped open.

"Rise, Haos Boriates!"

As the tiny marble transformed into Boriates, the Rocket mecha backed up to accommodate the marble's massively increasing size.

"Now who's laughing?" said Volt. "Say hello to my giant friend, Haos Boriates!"

"Now, Bolt, buddy—" Butch said in an ingratiating tone of voice.

"The name's 'Volt,'" Volt interrupted.

"Sorry: 'Volt.' I want to believe that you can be a reasonable man. Let's talk this out like civilized people, yes?"

"I'm listening," said Volt.

Cassidy answered, "We of Team Rocket fancy ourselves … connoisseurs of advanced technology."

Butch continued, "A robot as unique as Boraïates—"

"It's 'Boriates,'" Volt interrupted.

"Thanks—" Butch shrugged apologetically "—would be quite the asset to Team Rocket."

"Perhaps you really _don't _know who we are," said Cassidy. "You see, Team Rocket's mission is to create a better world—"

"Yeah, right! And I'm the Queen of Cameran!" Kaiser interrupted.

"—and we collect rare and valuable Pokémon 'cause they have the power to make that a reality." Cassidy continued, ignoring the interruption. "However, if we had a robot like yours on our side, it'd make using Pokémon seem almost redundant!

"Just imagine it. An army of Boriates, doing the will of Team Rocket. And if you hand him over, you might even become a high-ranking member of our organization."

"Not interested," Volt replied.

"What do you mean, 'not interested?'" Butch asked. "Don't you know what we're offering you?"

"You're trying to get me on your side because you know that you can't beat Boriates," said Volt. "But I'm not interested in your little gang—"

"'Little gang'?!" Butch raved. "Team Rocket happens to be a very powerful organization, with agents all over the country. You'd do well not to underestimate us!"

"Oh, I'm sorry," Volt mock-apologized. "I'm not interested in your … _organization_ … and its pathetic attempts at world domination."

_Especially since this world will be rubble before long if King Zenoheld gets his way_, Volt added internally.

"So here's _my_ position," Volt said, "Leave now, or be blown sky high!"

"Oh yeah?" replied Butch. "Let's see what that robot of yours can actually do! Battle mode, online!"

At the touch of a button, the Rocket mecha's visor retracted into place. Its two arms then retracted into its body, to re-emerge a second later with a mirrored shield on the left hand and a double-headed axe on the right.

"Well, can't say I didn't warn them," Volt said with a shrug. "Ability, activate: Prometheus Cannon!"

Two gun barrels extended from a box on Boriates' left forearm. With a loud boom, two yellow lasers issued from the Prometheus Cannon, heading straight towards Rocket mecha.

"Mirror Shield!" Butch commanded. The machine raised its left arm and brought up the shield to block the incoming lasers. The lasers' impact forced the Suck-of-a-Punishment Mark III back a few yards, but the Mirror Shield still reflected them back at Boriates.

Once it hit Boriates, the reflected Prometheus Cannon shot sent the Bakugan hurtling backwards. A sickening crunch could be heard seconds after the hit. When the dust settled, Boriates was on the ground, with pieces of wood poking out from under it.

"Hey! Get yer robot offa the fence!" Kaiser exclaimed indignantly. "If'n y'all wanna have yer giant-robot battle, take it someplace else!"

_Good thing that it was only the fence! If it was the _house … Volt thought.

While Boriates was getting up, it picked Volt up and placed him on its shoulder. Boriates then stood, facing the hole that the collision created.

"Ability, activate: Gun Durance!"

A gun barrel emerged from Boriates' back and shot a laser towards the Rocket mecha. Cassidy and Butch occupants, not expecting an attack to come from the robot's _back_, were unable to respond before the shot connected and knocked the mecha down.

"Now that they're occupied," said Volt, "let's move, Boriates!"

Watching Boriates retreat into the Safari Zone, Cassidy said, "After them!"

* * *

After putting some distance between them and the Safari Zone fence, and dodging missiles being shot at it by the Rocket mecha all the while, Boriates suddenly did an about-face.

"Ability, activate: Firebolt Axe!" said Volt.

A cylinder popped out from a box on Boriates' right forearm. The cylinder then attached to the outside of the box. A spike jutted out from each end of the cylinder. From the sides of the cylinder, two wings extended, from which plates of gold-plated metal extended to form a double-bladed axe. The entire mechanism took less than a second.

Boriates raised its arm to swing the axe down onto the rapidly-approaching Team Rocket mecha. However, the mecha stopped short just in time for the axe to land only inches from its position. The mecha's right arm, which had the rocket launcher, retracted and came back with the axe it had before.

"Nice try, Bolt," said Butch. "Now have a taste of _our_ axe!"

The mecha swung its right arm at Boriates' elbow. However, the axe failed to penetrate, causing the mecha to stagger at the impact.

"What kind of metal is this thing made of?" said Cassidy.

"Sorry, but I never found out either!" Volt taunted. Putting another card into his Gauntlet, he commanded, "Ability, activate: Element Glow!"

Before Team Rocket's eyes, Boriates collected energy towards a single point on its chest. Boriates then launched the beam of energy towards the mecha, which had no time to raise its Mirror Shield.

With a loud bang, the mecha exploded in a cloud of smoke. As the smoke cleared, Cassidy and Butch could be seen flying away, jetpacks on their backs.

"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" the duo said as they sped off.

* * *

A few minutes afterwards, Kaiser arrived at the battle site and saw Boriates standing over the wreckage of the Suck-of-a-Punishment Mark III.

"So, ya managed to chase them Team Rocket varmints off again. Good work, there, son." Glancing at the Firebolt Axe, Kaiser said, "_Arceus_, is that a mighty fine axe!" Kaiser then pointed a pistol at Volt. "Good thing for ya, too, 'cause my fence ain't gonna fix itself!"

"What?!" exclaimed Volt.

"Well, Team Rocket done flew away, and it was actually _your_ robot that done crushed it, so I reckon it's only fair for _you_ ta fix it," Kaiser replied. As if to press his point, Kaiser cocked the hammer. "Right?"

Volt grinned nervously. "Uh … sure."

"OK, then! So get ta workin'; we're wastin' daylight here!"

* * *

In the skies over the Safari Zone, Cassidy and Butch were flying off to the west. Cassidy held a black box tightly in her arms.

"Good thing that you ejected the box when you did, eh, Cass?" said Butch. "This footage should get us off for not having caught that Dratini egg, and _still_ have us in the Boss's good graces!"

"Too true," replied Cassidy. "I feel like this footage will mark the start of a new mission for Team Rocket. Mark my words, Volt Luster: you haven't seen the last of us!"

Cackling, the duo continued their flight to headquarters.

**A/N: **The Suck-of-a-Punishment is an actual Team Rocket mecha, used by Jessie and James in the episode _The Right Place and the Right Mime_ (episode 133 of the Advanced Generation series; episode 407 overall). It got upgraded to the Poke-Vac 5000 in the next episode, hence my reference to this iteration of the mecha as "Mark III."

In case the misspelling "Boraïates" threw you off, Butch mispronounced Boriates' name as "Bore-EYE-uh-tees."

Cameran is an actual place in the Pokémon universe: it's the castle in _Lucario and the Mystery of Mew_.


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

_Team Rocket Headquarters_

_March 28, 20—_

Cassidy and Butch stood attentively as they watched their boss, Giovanni, look at the footage that they submitted from the attack on the Safari Zone.

"This is truly an interesting piece of machinery," Giovanni said after watching the footage of the fight between Boriates and the Suck-of-a-Punishment Mark III. "A giant fighting robot that can shrink to the size of a marble. Team Rocket's operational ability would increase a hundredfold if we had access to this technology. Do either of you know the operator?"

"He said that his name was 'Volt Luster,' but aside from that, we don't have a clue who he is, sir," Butch answered.

"At least you have a name. That should be more than enough to start with," said Giovanni. He then pressed a button on his desk. A holographic screen appeared above the desk. On the screen was a balding old man with peach-colored hair. His eyebrows were the same color, and his mustache—also the same color—extended past his face.

"Dr. Namba?" Giovanni said.

"Yes, sir," the man answered.

"Cassidy and Butch are going to be headed your way with some … interesting footage. Find out what you can about this technology, as well as about its user 'Volt Luster'."

"Yes, sir, Giovanni," said Dr. Namba. The screen then shut off.

Cassidy and Butch still stood before their boss.

"Well? What are you two still doing here?" Giovanni snapped at the pair. "Get moving!"

"Yes, sir!" the agents said in unison before leaving the office.

After the agents left, Giovanni turned around and looked outside his window. _Volt Luster, I don't know who you are, but I _do _know this: the second you pitted yourself against Team Rocket, you made the greatest mistake of your life._

* * *

_Kanto Safari Zone_

_27 Ananeosis, 20 Zenoheld / March 28, 20—_

Back at the Safari Zone, Volt and Kaiser were rebuilding from the damage caused in the battle with Team Rocket. Contrary to what Kaiser had surmised, Boriates' Firebolt Axe was not very useful in hewing down trees for the repairs; Boriates' size got in the way of getting the Axe to a good angle for cutting the trees down. However, the human was still able to make use of Boriates: it was able to uproot enough trees to be used to patch up the gates, and after it lopped off the roots and crowns of each tree and split the resulting logs, Volt and Kaiser spent much of the day fashioning the timber into planks.

_That blasted Team Rocket! _Volt fumed as he sanded down another plank. _Every second I waste here is another second for Zenoheld to complete that Alternative Weapon System of his. But thanks to them, I'm here playing carpenter instead of finding a way back to Vestal!_

_Well, at least Kaiser's doing some of the work as well. I gotta hand it to him: for an old man, he's no slacker._

While they were sanding the planks, Kaiser called out, "Hey, Volt!"

"Yes?"

"Do ya mind if'n I ask ya a few questions?"

"Ask away," Volt replied.

'"Well, yesterday, ya said that y'all 'Vexos' served directly under yer king … uh, 'Zeddahead', wasn't it?"

"It's 'Zenoheld.' And we didn't always answer directly to him," Volt replied. "At first, our leader was a man named Spectra, and he, in turn, answered to Prince Hydron, the king's son. To make a long story short, Spectra eventually betrayed Zenoheld, and the king took direct command of the team shortly afterwards."

"So, was this Spectra guy some kinda nobleman or somethin'?" Kaiser asked. "An' what about the rest of y'all Vexos? An' how many of y'all are there?"

"First off, Spectra was no noble," Volt answered. "His only connection to the Royal Family was that one of King Zenoheld's top scientists happened to be his father.

"As for me, I'm as far from noble as you can get. I'm actually from a place called Varemed, one of the poorest areas in all of Vestal.

"Only one of us, Shadow Prove, is a noble. He's the son of the king's cousin, but you'd never guess that from the way he acts."

"Oh?" Kaiser replied. "How is that?"  
"Let's say that he loves to intimidate people, and I _don't_ mean by flaunting his authority. I believe I've heard him compared to a 'vampire,' whatever that is."

"Oh," Kaiser said as realization dawned.

"But that's not to say that the Vexos got their positions because of some sort of connection to the Royal Family," Volt quickly added. "All six of us had to work hard to earn our spots on the Vexos.

"Years after the Bakugan first arrived on Vestal, Prince Hydron announced that he was holding a tournament to determine the strongest brawler for each Bakugan Attribute. The winners would then be given the chance to become an elite team of brawlers who would serve the Royal Family directly.

"Brawlers from all over Vestal came to Archia, our capital, in an attempt to test their skills and gain a slot in this new team. Of course, I won the Haos tournament, and thus earned my place as one of the Vexos."

"Wait a sec, ain't 'Haos' the name of that Bakugan of yers?" Kaiser asked.

"No. 'Boriates' is his name; 'Haos' is his Attribute," Volt answered.

"Ah. What's an 'Attribute,' then?"

"All Bakugan have one of six Attributes: 'Pyrus,' or fire; 'Aquos,' water; 'Subterra,' earth; 'Ventus,' wind; 'Darkus,' darkness; or 'Haos,' light," Volt explained. "A Bakugan's Attribute determines the general kind of abilities it has."

"So then them Attribute things are like Pokémon types, then?" Kaiser asked. At Volt's confused expression, he elaborated, "Each Pokémon has one or two types. There are seventeen different types that we know of for sure—though I've heard talk that there's an eighteenth. We can talk about it later, though, since it can get pretty complicated.

"But back to you an' them Vexos; ya must have really impressed a lot of people to make it as big as ya did. It's a shame that it all blew up in yer face."

"I have no regrets turning my back on the Vexos," Volt said, looking wistfully at the sky. "My only regret is that I wasn't able to avoid getting banished."

* * *

Over the next few hours, the two men patched up the hole in the fence, a few planks at a time. Once the hole was patched up, the two began hammering cross-beams into place.

While they were hammering, Kaiser commented, "I've gotta hand it ta ya, Volt, ya've done some mighty fine work. Looks like those muscles of yers ain't just fer show!" Kaiser laughed. "If you an' Boriates didn't help me fix this fence, that hole woulda stayed there fer days, an' I woulda have ta ask the Officer Jenny from the nearby Pokémon preserve ta help keep the Pokémon from runnin' out the hole. An' believe you me, she hates havin' to divert attention from her beat."

_It wasn't as if you gave us a _choice _in the matter, Kaiser!_ Volt retorted internally. A moment later, Volt asked, "Wait a second: 'Pokémon preserve'?"

"Yeah. There's a Pokémon preserve not too far from here, where catchin' Pokémon is forbidden. There are Pokémon there that are rarely found anywhere else, an' we want to keep their numbers up."

"Wait a second. So everyday people usually catch Pokémon as well—not just Team Rocket?"

"That's right. Catchin' an' trainin' Pokémon is a common part of life in Kanto."

"But if people have the right to enslave Pokémon, then why did we fight Team Rocket those past two times?"

Kaiser almost hammered his left thumb in his shock; he barely managed to move his hand out of the way in time. "Enslave?! Pokémon are no more our slaves than you are mine! I may not have gotten all of the details on the relationship between you Vestals and them Bakugan, but as for Pokémon and humans, we live together in harmony. They ain't our slaves!

"Now when ya try ta snatch babies from their nests, or try an' suck 'em up like so much dirt, or try an' use 'em ta take over the world like Team Rocket does, then sure, we got a problem. But Pokémon an' humans have been workin' together since Arceus-knows-when. Hell, I doubt that humankind coulda gone _half _as far as we have without the help of Pokémon! In fact, if'n you an' Boriates didn't help me fix that fence, the people that I woulda had ta hire woulda brought some Machoke ta help them with the construction.

"Long story short, humans and Pokémon are friends, not master an' slave.

"Now I'll admit that that hasn't always been the case. I heard that long ago, we humans used ta fear the Pokémon. Then again, how could ya not, when they can control the very elements of nature?"

At that, Volt thought back on the Aggron and its ability to shoot lightning bolts and create earthquakes. If there were more creatures like that on this planet, then humans were more resourceful than he gave them credit for.

"But over time, we've grown ta live in harmony with one another," Kaiser said with a fond smile. "Pokémon are part of our everyday lives; it's almost inconceivable that anyone would live without 'em."

As the two men resumed working, Volt thought over what he had heard. _Friends? Is the relationship like what I've seen with the Resistance and their Bakugan? Despite them being continuous nuisances, I must admit that their brawling style reveals a…_closeness _that I haven't seen from any team on Vestal other than me and Brontes. Despite the powers the Bakugan possess, the Resistance doesn't see them as tools at all._

Volt's eyes went wide. _Wait a second! If Pokémon are so ubiquitous on Earth, and humans and Pokémon have always worked together, then how come I never saw any Pokémon accompanying the Brawlers? And how come I never saw a Pokémon when I was on Earth?_

_Then again, I _have _only heard the term the previous day. Maybe I _had _seen one when I was last on Earth, but didn't know it._

Before Volt could go any further down that train of thought, however, Kaiser said, "Well, you'll be able ta see fer yerself how Pokémon and humans interact as ya try ta head back home. Speakin' of which, ya need ta get a Pokémon of yer own!"

"What?" Volt asked in surprise.

"Do I need ta repeat myself? 'Ya need ta get a Pokémon of yer own.'" Seeing Volt's dumbstruck face, Kaiser continued, "What? Didja think that ya were gonna use that giant robot of yers every time ya run across a couple of Beedrill? Talk about overkill!

"Uh-uh; if'n ya wanna fit in around these here parts, ya _can't_ be walkin' around here without no Pokémon. That just ain't safe! An' unless I'm mistaken, ya want ta get home as soon as possible, right? The best way ta do _that_ is ta _not _call attention ta yerself, ya hear me? An' other than usin' that giant robot of yers, there ain't _no _better way ta call attention ta yerself than ta be travelin' around without no Pokémon!"

"If that's the case, then how come I haven't seen any Pokémon with you, Kaiser?" Volt asked.

"I don't need any when I got these babies!" Kaiser said, pulling out his pistols. Holstering them, he continued, "But in all seriousness, I don't do much travelin', so I don't need ta have Pokémon with me. But believe you me; I was quite the Trainer in my day. Now you listen good: them routes are full of wild Pokémon, and even though yer strong, no amount of muscles will help ya against creatures that can poison ya, shock ya, breathe fire—"

"All right, I get the picture!" Volt interrupted. "It's just … a bit much, OK? Give me some time to think this all over."

"Alright, I can give ya that. And looky here: we're done patchin' up the fence! My Arceus, ain't that a piece of work?" Kaiser said as he inspected the completed fence.

"An' not a moment too soon; sun's goin' down. I don't know about you, but I'm all tuckered out. Why don't we get ourselves washed up, an' we can talk in the morning about what yer gonna do tomorrow?"

"Sounds like a plan," Volt replied.


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

_Kanto Safari Zone_

_28 Ananeosis, 20 Zenoheld / March 29, 20—_

After breakfast, Kaiser and Volt were back in the reception area.

"Well, did ya think about whether ya wanna get a Pokémon, Volt?" Kaiser asked.

"Well, as you said, it would be to my advantage not to call undue attention to myself." _Even though Boriates could easily take anything the Pokémon world can throw at me, it's best not to take my chances if no one in this world has heard about Bakugan._ "So, how do I get a Pokémon?"

"Normally, ya'd get yer starter Pokémon when ya first become a Trainer at the age of ten," Kaiser began. "From then, ya'd go on a journey with yer Pokémon, meetin' other Pokémon as ya travel from town ta town.

"Ta capture a wild Pokémon, ya have yer Pokémon battle the wild Pokémon ta weaken it, then capture it with one of these." From a compartment in the reception desk, Kaiser pulled out one of the red-and-white balls Volt saw two days ago. "This is called a Poké Ball. It's used ta capture an' transport Pokémon. I'm willin' ta bet that it's the same idea behind havin' Bakugan shrink ta the size of marbles."

_Actually, Bakugan shrink because they can't hold their true form outside of New Vestroia_, Volt thought. But aloud, Volt only mumbled, "Yeah … something like that."

"However, in the Safari Zone, the rules are a little different," Kaiser said. From another compartment, he took out a wicker basket, which had a bunch of differently-colored Poké Balls—where a normal Poké Ball was red, these were green and had a little "S" on top of the button in the middle—as well as a plastic stick and a tin that had a picture of brown pellets on it.

"Here, ya try to get the wild Pokémon's attention with this bait instead of battlin' it, then toss one of these here Safari Balls," Kaiser continued.

"Unlike normal Poké Balls, which can be used indefinitely until they break or catch something, Safari Balls will automatically deactivate if it fails to catch a Pokémon. The Safari Zone is home to lotsa Pokémon species that ya can't find in the rest of Kanto, and we're tryin' to protect them from overcatchin'. Sorta like a Pokémon preserve's younger cousin, if ya will.

"Anyway, ya have a limit of 30 Safari Balls, so use 'em wisely. Remember: Once ya use a Safari Ball, it cannot be used again, whether ya manage ta catch a Pokémon in it or not.

"If'n yer interested in gettin' a Water Pokémon, I recommend ya use this little beauty." Kaiser extended the plastic stick into a fishing rod, then retracted it back to its smaller size.

"Since ya don't have any Pokémon, I reckon that it's a good thing ya landed here, the one place in Kanto where ya don't need a Pokémon ta catch a Pokémon!"

Before anyone could say anything further, however, there was a knock at the door.

After Kaiser unlocked the door and opened it, the person waiting on the other side entered the office. She was fair-skinned and had curly blond hair. She wore a red short-sleeved blouse and blue jeans, and on her head was a baseball cap, which had a red brim and was red on the sides and white across the front, crown, and back. Volt also noticed that she looked like an acrobat, as she had a lithe physique.

"Hi, Kaiser!" the woman said in a high-pitched, perky voice.

"Howdy, Maya," Kaiser replied before returning to the reception desk.

"You know her?" Volt asked Kaiser.

"Sure I do," Kaiser said, while the woman approached the desk to get her Safari Zone kit. "This here's Maya. She's a Trainer from Mahogany Town in Johto, an' she's been comin' here a few times over the past two weeks. She says that there's a rare Pokémon in these here parts that she's tryin' ta catch—an' by the way, no, it ain't Dratini—but with the frequency that she's been comin', I think that she's just here for the _scenery_, if'n ya know what I mean."

"Don't flatter yourself, Kaiser," Maya replied. "And who is _this_ hunk of a man?" she said, eyeing Volt.

Kaiser answered, "That there's Bolt Luster—"

"It's 'Volt,'" Volt corrected.

"Sorry, '_Volt_ Luster'—an' this is actually his first time here in the Safari Zone." Kaiser brought a finger to his chin. "Wait a second! Since _you've_ been here so often, Maya, why don't ya help him out? He needs a good Pokémon to travel with."

"Since when did I become a tour guide?" Maya pouted.

"Since when did _I_ become a babysitter?" Kaiser retorted. "Listen here: Volt here done survived a plane crash, only ta have some thieves steal his belongings an' Pokémon while he was out! So now he's on his own, tryin' ta get back on his feet. An' don't let them muscles fool ya; he's petrified at the thought of havin' ta travel anywhere without no Pokémon, especially in an unfamiliar region. _I_ sure ain't gonna be holdin' his hand; I got a Safari Zone ta run!"

"Oh, you poor thing!" replied Maya, who immediately rushed to Volt's side. "How … _nice_ of Kaiser to help you get back on your feet!" Maya glared at Kaiser at the word "nice." Sliding a finger across Volt's chest, she continued, "Alright; I'll help you get a nice, _strong_ Pokémon to accompany you on your way home." Heading for the door, she said, "C'mon, let's go!"

"You go ahead, Maya," said Kaiser. "I have some last-minute advice for Volt here."

"OK," said Maya. "See you outside, Volt!" With that, she left the office.

After Maya left, Volt approached Kaiser's desk.

"Now don't you be tryin' to tell Maya about you bein' no alien, y'hear me?" Kaiser hissed, pistol drawn. "Not everyone believes in that kinda stuff. So if she asks, yer from the Unova region. Ya were on an airplane—that's a type of Earthling flyin' machine, if'n ya didn't know—on yer way ta Johto fer vacation. It crashed, and ya blacked out. When ya came to, ya found that all yer Pokémon an' valuables were stolen. Ya eventually found yer way here, an' now yer tryin' to get back on yer feet. Didja get that?"

"I'm from … 'Unova,' and fell into some hard times. Got it," Volt confirmed.

"Good," Kaiser said, holstering the pistol. "Now get outta here; ya got a Pokémon to catch."

When Volt left, he found Maya waiting near the door. She asked, "What took you so long, Volt?"

"Uh … Kaiser was just giving me some last-minute advice on catching Pokémon here," Volt replied. "Let's go inside, shall we?"

As they approached the Safari Zone gates, Maya commented, "Did something happen to the fence? Some of these planks look…rough-cut."

Volt gave an awkward chuckle. "Yeah. I wonder how _that_ happened."

* * *

After wandering the Safari Zone for a few minutes, Volt asked, "So, Maya, Kaiser said that you were here to look for a rare Pokémon. Which Pokémon are you looking for, exactly?"

"Let me show you," she answered. From her blouse's breast pocket, she pulled out a deck of cards. On each card was a picture of a different Pokémon.

"This one." Maya pulled out one of the cards from the deck and showed it to Volt. On the card was a picture of a pink ovoid creature with stubby arms, hair-like outgrowths coming from the sides of its head, stubby feet, and a belly pouch that had a white egg in it. Beneath the picture was a caption: "Chansey, the Egg Pokémon."

"And this … 'Chansey' lives in the Safari Zone?" asked Volt.

"That's why I'm here," replied Maya. "And what about you? What Pokémon are you trying to catch?"

"You already heard the story from Kaiser; I'm basically starting from scratch here. My plane crashed as I was headed to Johto on vacation. This is my first time out of Unova, so I'm not really familiar with the Pokémon here in Kanto. I really have no idea what's around here," Volt replied.

"Is that so? Well, there are quite a few strong Pokémon around here that I'm sure will make good companions for you on your journey." A patch of rustling grass caught Maya's eye. "Well, what do you know? That might be one right now!"

* * *

_Team Rocket Headquarters_

Giovanni had a hard-to-read expression on his face. However, it was clear enough to Cassidy and Butch that their boss was not pleased.

"I just got the report from Dr. Namba. You mean to tell me that even though I practically gave you an entire day to search for this 'Volt Luster,' we have absolutely _no_ information on him?" Giovanni demanded. "With all the data that Team Rocket has access to, how could you come up with absolutely _nothing?_"

"I dunno, Boss, but that's the truth," Butch replied warily.

Giovanni glared at the two agents. "So Kanto has nothing?"

"Nothing," replied Cassidy.

"Johto?"

"Nada," replied Butch.

"Hoenn?"

"_No_ Pokémon-League database that we have access to has _any_ mention of a 'Volt Luster,'" replied Cassidy.

"Maybe 'Volt' is a pseudonym. Did you try matching his picture?" Giovanni countered.

"Yes, sir," Butch answered. "Pokémon League, police records, even missing-persons reports. Still coming up empty. It's as if he just popped up out of nowhere."

"And what about the technology? Was Dr. Namba able to identify it?" Giovanni asked.

"Sorry, Boss. Dr. Namba says that he needs more data."

"Hmm… Then we'll have to find some way to get the data that he needs."

* * *

_Kanto Safari Zone_

After Maya let the Pokémon (a Rattata) get away, the duo continued to explore the Safari Zone. Before long, they ran across another Pokémon in a wide-open part of the Zone.

Volt's heartbeat started to race as he recognized the Pokémon as one that he had run across two days ago: a bovine creature with three silver studs on its forehead, a dark-brown mane, and three tails.

Maya rummaged through her deck of cards until she found the one with a picture of the Pokémon on it.

"'Tauros, the Wild Bull Pokémon,'" she read. "It says here that Tauros is not satisfied unless it is rampaging at all times. Tauros are apparently rowdy Pokémon with a lot of stamina, and they're always looking for an opponent. That looks like the _perfect_ Pokémon for you, Volt!"

Volt glared at Maya—who seemed not to have noticed—at the thought of being paired with such a mindless creature. Nonetheless, Volt asked, while fiddling with one of the Safari Balls, "So, how do these Safari Balls work?"

"Just like any other Poké Ball: you throw it!" Maya explained.

"Like this?" Volt asked, throwing a Safari Ball at the Tauros. Upon impact, the ball opened up, and the Tauros turned into a mass of red plasma, which got sucked into the ball. The ball then closed, landed on the ground, and started shaking from side to side. He approached the shaking Ball curiously.

"I wouldn't get too close to that if I were you!" Maya warned.

But her warning came too late. The ball popped open, and as Volt retreated, the Tauros emerged from the ball. Upon spotting the man who tried to capture it, the Tauros started pawing the earth.

"Uh-oh. Back away _very_ slowly," said Maya.

"Easy there, big fella," said Volt, backing away with his hands up. "No need for hostilities."

While backing up, Volt stumbled upon a rock and fell onto his backside. At the sudden movement, the Tauros began whipping itself with its tails.

"RUN!" yelled Maya.

Volt scrambled onto his feet, unhappy at the thought of being chased once again by one of the denizens of the Kanto Safari Zone. He immediately began to run away, Maya a few steps ahead. The Tauros, however, was three yards away and seemed to be steadily closing the gap.

"How fast can a Tauros run?" Volt asked.

"A heck of a lot faster than two humans! Boulder ahead!"

The pair avoided a three-foot-tall boulder that was right in front of them—Maya vaulted over, while Volt ran around it—and kept running. The Tauros, unable to stop in time, head-butted the boulder. It shook itself, trotted around the boulder, and then resumed its full-speed pursuit of Volt and Maya. Volt looked over his shoulder and noticed that the gap between them had grown to six yards.

"Well, if we can't outrun it, why are we running?" Volt asked. "Don't you have a Pokémon to fight it with?"

"Did you forget the rules already?" Maya replied. "You can't use your Pokémon in the Safari Zone! And Kaiser makes sure of it, too: you have to give him your Pokémon and Poké Balls before he gives you your Safari Balls."

_So that's no help_, Volt thought._ And I doubt that I can summon Boriates in time._

Volt noticed something in front of him. _Wait a sec, what's that?_

"Maya, is that another Tauros in front of us?" Volt asked, pointing to a mass of fur that they were running towards.

"I think it is," Maya replied.

"Then I have an idea. Run towards that Tauros!"

"You want us to run _towards_ a Tauros?!"

"Trust me!"

The two continued their run, the enraged Tauros still in hot pursuit and closing fast. They were soon ten yards from the sleeping Tauros…

eight yards…

six yards…

four yards…

When they were one yard away from the sleeping Tauros, Volt said, "Split up!"

Volt went right, and Maya went left, both going around the sleeping Tauros. Just as before, the pursuing Tauros couldn't stop in time to avoid hitting the sleeping Tauros's side.

The sleeping Tauros awakened and turned to face whatever was rude enough to disturb its slumber. Upon seeing another Tauros, the once-sleeping Tauros issued a loud bellow.

"Looks like our pursuer found a new opponent," Volt said as the two proceeded to put as much distance as possible between them and the two now-scuffling Tauros.

* * *

Huffing and puffing in her exhaustion, Maya reprimanded, "Next … time … try to … calm … the Pokémon … _down_ before chucking a Safari Ball at it!" Maya and Volt were now catching their breath behind a pair of trees a good distance away from the two battling Tauros.

After Volt and Maya finished catching their breath, Maya heard a nearby patch of foliage start to rustle.

"What's that over there?" Maya asked.

"Where?" Volt replied.

"Behind that bush over there." Approaching the bush, Maya saw a flash of color. "Volt, pass me that tin of Pokémon food, will you?" Maya asked, further approaching the bush.

"This?" Volt replied, holding up the tin from Maya's basket.

"Yes, that!" replied Maya. "Hurry up, already!"

Volt tossed the tin to Maya, who easily caught it.

Maya opened the tin and shook a few pellets of Pokémon food into her hand. "Come on out," she said to the Pokémon behind the bush. "I won't hurt you. I've got some nice food for you."

A purple Pokémon with a long horn peeked out from behind the bush. Its long, almost rabbit-like ears twitched, and Volt was sure he saw spikes running down its back.

"That's right, big guy," Maya coaxed. "No tricks, just food." Maya dropped the pellets on the ground and stepped back, returning to Volt's side.

The mysterious Pokémon walked out in front of them, sniffed the food, and began eating.

"All right, the Nidorino accepted my bait!" she said. "Nidorino are quick to attack anyone they see as hostile, plus their horn secretes a powerful venom.

"I already have a Nidorino, though. Do you want this one?"

"Uh … let's leave that Pokémon alone for now," said Volt.

* * *

After a few more minutes of searching, Volt and Maya ran across another Pokémon. It was a quadrupedal creature with a horn over its snout and bony plates all over its body.

"What's that Pokémon?" Volt asked.

Maya shuffled through her cards. "That's a Rhyhorn, the Spikes Pokémon. According to this card, it has bones that are a thousand times harder than a human's."

"Is that so?" asked Volt. "Sounds like it can stand up to a lot of punishment."

"Of course it can; it _is_ a Rock-type, after all."

_"Rock-type"? Better ask the old man later what she's talking about_, Volt thought.

"Sounds like my kind of Pokémon," Volt said aloud.

Copying what he saw Maya do with the Nidorino, Volt approached the Rhyhorn, Pokémon food in hand.

"Hey, Rhyhorn. Want some food?"

The Rhyhorn approached Volt warily.

"No need to worry, Rhyhorn. I'm not gonna hurt you."

Meanwhile, Maya saw a flash of pink out of the corner of her eye. Taking her basket, she went to investigate.

Putting a trail of Pokémon food in front of him, Volt slowly backed up. The Rhyhorn followed the trail of food.

_I think I'm getting the hang of this_, Volt thought.

But just as he was about to capture the Rhyhorn, a high-pitched squeal of delight rent the air, sending the Pokémon running.

"No! Don't run!" Volt cried out, but to no avail.

_No choice, then. _"Poké Ball, go!" Volt said, throwing a Safari Ball at the retreating Pokémon. Volt's throw, however, missed its mark.

Turning behind him, Volt saw the source of the ear-splitting shriek that scared his quarry away: Maya, bounding towards him, Safari Ball in hand.

"Volt, I got it! I got it! After all this time searching, I finally got my hands on a Chansey!" Maya exulted. "Look!"

Opening the Safari Ball, Maya sent out a Chansey.

"Can you believe it? I actually caught. A. _Chansey!_ They say that Chansey bring good luck, and now I got one!"

Volt had a scowl on his face. "For your sake, I sure hope that luck is contagious!"

Looking at Volt's face, Maya quickly figured out that her partner did not share in her exuberance. "Did … something happen?"

* * *

Volt and Maya returned to Kaiser's house as the sun was beginning to set.

"You two done took long enough out there!" Kaiser said when he heard the front door open. "So, how'd ya do in the Safari Zone?"

"Your friend here can be such a slave-driver!" Maya complained.

It was then that Kaiser noticed that both of them were exhausted and bedraggled. "What happened to y'all?"

While the two returned their Safari Zone kits to Kaiser, Maya explained, "Well, I finally got myself a Chansey! But old sourpuss over here was trying to catch a Rhyhorn at the same time, and when I cheered that I _finally_ got the Pokémon that I was looking for, his Rhyhorn got away. So what does he do? He snatches my Poké Ball and says that he won't give it back to me until I help him get that Rhyhorn! Needless to say, we almost got killed trying to get that thing. Rhyhorn just blasted through everything in its way, so its trail was easy to _spot_. But was it easy to _follow?_ No! It was almost as if the entire Safari Zone was conspiring to get in the way of us following it! I swear, if I ever, _ever _have to dodge another Twineedle attack—_ever!_—I'm gonna scream! Argh!"

Laughing, Kaiser said, "Well, it looks like y'all've got a pretty productive day behind ya!

"Sun's settin', though. Wanna stay here, Maya? I got a room fer ya to stay in."

"No thanks, Kaiser. I already have a room at the Fuchsia City Pokémon Center," Maya replied. Turning to Volt, Maya said, "Besides, Rhyhorn aside, it was fun being with you today. I hope we meet again. Now I believe you have something of mine, Volt."

Volt returned Maya's Safari Ball.

"Thanks!" Maya said once she received her Pokémon back. "See you later!" Maya then gave Volt a peck on the cheek, then headed towards the door and out of the office.

"Bye, Maya," Volt replied towards the woman's retreating form.

After Maya left, Kaiser said, "So now ya got a Pokémon. Congrats."

"Thanks," said Volt. "You've been a big help."

"After what ya've done, it's the least I can do. Now get yerself cleaned up an' get some rest, 'cause tomorrow's time for ya to get outta here! I ain't runnin' no bed-an'-breakfast!"

"OK. Just one question."

"Shoot."

"Maya said that Rhyhorn is a 'Rock-type.' What does that mean?"

Kaiser slapped himself on the forehead. "Oh, right! Good thing ya asked, 'cause I done totally forgot that we brought that up yesterday. And believe you me, ya can't be wanderin' around these here parts knowin' nothin' about Pokémon types. Pull up a chair an' listen good, 'cause ya've got a lot of learnin' ta do. Actually, ya might need this as well." Kaiser took a notepad and pen from the reception desk. "I assume that yer able to write, right? Or are you Vestal-folk so advanced that y'all have outgrown the use of a pen and paper?"

Volt didn't know whether Kaiser was being curious or condescending. Deciding not to take offense, Volt simply answered, "I know how to write."

"All right. Now listen up. Like I mentioned earlier, there are seventeen Pokémon types. I heard talk that someone out there may have discovered an eighteenth, but I'll stick with what I know fer sure an' say seventeen.

"Now, a Pokémon's type determines what kinda attacks it's strong or weak to. For example, since ya asked about the Rock type …"

**A/N**: This fic is set way before Generation VI, hence Kaiser's remark about the number of Pokémon types. I'll explain further about this fic's setting in next chapter's A/N.

Also, regarding the description of the Safari Balls, Safari Balls are camouflage-colored in the games. In the anime, they're exactly as I described: green with an "S" over the button.

Credit goes to Bulbapedia for its excellent Pokémon descriptions, as well as for being a good source of Pokédex entries. Chansey's description in particular benefited from a trip to Bulbapedia.


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

_Kanto Safari Zone_

_29 Ananeosis, 20 Zenoheld / March 30, 20—_

Early the next morning, Kaiser finally had the chance to go over the route to Vermillion City with Volt. Around nine o'clock, he gave Volt some Poké Balls and some money, then started to escort his guest out the door; Kaiser wanted to give Volt an early start on his journey.

"Well, it's time fer ya ta get outta here," said Kaiser. "But I've got one last thing fer ya. I have a friend in Pallet Town who happens to be well-known around these parts. His name's Professor Samuel Oak. I told him yer story—the plane-crash version, that is—while you an' Maya were out in the Safari Zone yesterday, an' he agreed ta have his assistant meet ya at the Fuchsia City Pokémon Center. Fuchsia City is just south of here; just follow the road an' yer sure ta find it. When ya arrive in the city, ya can't miss the Pokémon Center; it's the big half-sphere buildin' in the middle of Main Street. There's a purple stripe runnin' across it, and a large yellow letter 'P' on the front. Just wait in there until Prof. Oak's assistant shows up."

"Thanks very much, Kaiser. I'll be sure to wait for him," Volt said.

"See ya, Volt. An' good luck findin' a way back ta Vestal."

After the two men shook hands, Volt left the door and headed south, eager to begin the journey that would hopefully lead to Wardington, and from there, back to Vestal.

* * *

_Fuchsia City_

When Volt arrived at Fuchsia City, he immediately started feeling like he was attracting too much attention. Passersby, noticing Volt's unusual clothing, had started to mutter amongst themselves:

"Who is that man?"

"Maybe he's an actor? But isn't Schpielbunk in Virbank City this year?"

"Is he a Trainer at Koga's Gym?"

"Impossible: ninjas don't wear cloaks like _that_. And they _definitely _don't wear white."

"Maybe that guy's a Coordinator?"

"He'd be the bulkiest Coordinator I've seen!"

"Mommy, that man looks funny!"

"It's not polite to point, honey."

Volt's garb was certainly attention-grabbing; it was by no means common to Kanto. At first glance, Volt would seem to be wearing a long cloak. However, closer inspection would reveal that the "cloak" was actually two capes: one draped around his shoulders, and another extending from the waist. Both parts were white and had yellow fur lining, and the upper cape was collared and decorated with orange highlights. Underneath the upper cape, Volt wore a black shirt with a low neckline and a gold zipper up the middle. The shirt extended past the waist, where there was a wide brown belt with a silver pentagon-shaped buckle. His lower-body wear, however, was fairly standard—a pair of black trousers and white boots—but the capes-cum-cloak certainly made people notice.

The unwanted attention made Volt feel uneasy, but fortunately for him, he did not have to add to his embarrassment by asking for directions: after walking straight ahead for a few blocks, he saw the building Kaiser described, located right in the middle of the street.

Unbeknownst to Volt, however, there was one person in the crowd that knew more of the stranger than that he was strangely dressed.

* * *

_Team Rocket Headquarters_

"Boss, we found 'im!"

Butch and Cassidy, elated at the new development, were racing to Giovanni's office.

Once Butch threw the office door open, Giovanni snapped, "Butch! What could possibly be so important that you had to just barge into my office?"

"Sorry, Boss," Butch answered, head now bowed. "But we found Volt Luster!" he said, rebounding from the rebuke.

Cassidy, who had just entered behind her partner, continued: "An agent in the field just responded to your APB. Volt is currently in Fuchsia City. He seems to be headed for the Pokémon Center."

"Good," Giovanni answered. "Coordinate with that agent if you can and figure out what you're going to do next. But I had better _not_ see you returning here without that robot. Am I understood?"

"Yes, sir!" Cassidy and Butch replied.

* * *

_Fuchsia City Pokémon Center_

Upon entering the Pokémon Center doors, Volt saw a pink-haired woman wearing a lighter pink dress, white apron, and simple white headpiece with a blue cross standing behind a reception desk. A smiling Chansey in a similar headpiece stood to her right.

"Good morning, ma'am," Volt said. He looked around the main room curiously. "Did, uh, someone come here looking for me?"

"Not that I remember, no," the woman replied. "Are you supposed to be meeting someone here?"

"Yes, someone who works for Professor Oak."

Her face lit up in realization. "So you must be Volt Luster!"

"How did you know my name?" Volt asked.

"Kaiser called ahead and said that someone with that name, who he described as, quote, 'a peach-haired musclehead with weird clothin',' would be coming here to meet one of Professor Oak's aides," she replied. "And you certainly look the part."

"Since you apparently know _my_ name already, what's yours?" Volt asked.

"You can just call me Nurse Joy; everyone does," the woman replied.

Volt noticed a picture on the wall behind Nurse Joy. The picture showed a multitude of women, all wearing the same outfit, and all looking exactly like the nurse.

"What's that picture back there?" asked Volt.

"Oh, that?" Nurse Joy replied. "That's just a picture from our latest family reunion. It was a pretty small one, though; only the Joys from Kanto showed up."

_What? There are identical copies of this woman all over Kanto? _Volt thought. _Even _Vestal _doesn't have cloning technology!_

"Not that we didn't try to invite other Joys, of course. I remember sending out invites to my second cousin once removed in Nimbasa City and to my third cousin in Castelia City," Nurse Joy continued. "They also look like me, by the way."

_What?! _"That's quite an … interesting family you got there," Volt said.

_Okay, so we're _not _dealing with clones. Either this family has some weird genetics or some pretty exacting aesthetic standards. Whatever it is, I don't think I want to know, and I hopefully won't be on this planet long enough to find out._

Noticing the Pokémon next to Nurse Joy, he quickly changed the subject, asking, "Is that a Chansey? I thought those were rare."

"They _are_ rare, in the wild," Nurse Joy replied. "However, because they're such good healers, we have some people specially breed Chansey to work alongside Nurse Joys all over Kanto. She's the best assistant anyone could ask for!"

"Chansey!" the Pokémon added cheerfully.

"Anyway, while you're waiting for Prof. Oak's assistant, why don't you sit down at the reception area?" the nurse offered. "And what do you know? _Professor Oak's Pokémon Live Caster_ is on!"

On the television was an image of an old man with sand-colored hair and bushy black eyebrows, wearing a lab coat over a burgundy dress shirt. The professor was behind a newscaster's desk, with a screen to his right on the wall behind him.

"Greetings, everyone! My name is Professor Samuel Oak, and welcome to today's episode of _Professor Oak's Pokémon Live Caster_!" said the professor.

"Today, we are going to be talking about some recent discoveries made in the Sinnoh region."

The screen behind him showed a Rhyhorn.

"Rhyhorn, the Spikes Pokémon," Prof. Oak announced. "When it was first discovered, scientists observed only two evolutionary forms: Rhyhorn, the basic form, and Rhydon, the form to which Rhyhorn evolves once it reaches level 42." The screen behind Professor Oak changed to show a picture of a Rhydon. Volt noticed that whereas Rhyhorn was quadrupedal and had a rough-hewn appearance, Rhydon was bipedal and had a much smoother-looking body than its unevolved counterpart. Volt also noted that the Pokémon's horn got bigger when it evolved.

Prof Oak continued, "So it came as quite a surprise to the local Pokémon community when word came out that there was a _third _evolutionary form! When Rhydon holds an item called a Protector, it may evolve further into Rhyperior." When Profesor Oak mentioned the "Protector," an image of a bunch of stone slabs arranged to look like the sides and roof of a house appeared on the screen. At the word "Rhyperior," the image on the screen changed once again to show the new Pokémon. Rhyperior was a lot more bulky than its pre-evolved form. It had a second horn on top of its first, and the first horn was now squarely between the Pokémon's eyes. Orange plates were all over its body, and there appeared to be holes in the palms of its hands. Its arms were a lot bigger than previously, as there were growths extending backwards from Rhyperior's elbows. At the end of Rhyperior's tail was a ball, which was not present when the Pokémon was either Rhyhorn or Rhydon.

"We do not know how Rhyperior come about in the wild," continued Prof. Oak, "but we _do_ know that if a Rhydon is holding a Protector when it is sent through a Trading Machine, that somehow kick-starts the process. Current speculation holds that there may be some similarities between the mechanics of Rhydon evolution and those of the evolution of Pokémon like Graveler and Kadabra, which also evolve when traded." As Prof. Oak continued his lecture, pictures of the two Pokémon and their evolutionary lines appeared on the screen.

_So, the creature I caught can change into those forms,_ Volt thought. _It looks like pursuing that Rhyhorn yesterday may turn out to be worth the trouble._

At that moment, the Pokémon Center door _whoosh_ed open. Inside came a young man holding a briefcase. The man wore a green T-shirt and brown shorts, and had an orange headband under his spiky dark green hair.

The man approached the front desk. "Hi, Nurse Joy," he said. "I'm Prof. Oak's assistant, and I'm here to look for someone by the name of …" He took an index card out of a pocket in his shorts and read from it: "'Volt Luster.' Is anyone by that name here?"

"Oh, yes!" replied Nurse Joy. "In fact, that's him right there in front of the TV; the one with the spiky, peach-colored hair. He's quite inquisitive; is he going to be another assistant?"

"That would be nice, but no; he's actually a Pokémon Trainer who's new in Kanto, and I'm here to give him his starter Pokémon."

"Ah! This I have to see," said Nurse Joy, who walked out from behind her desk.

Accompanied by Nurse Joy, the assistant went to where Volt was seated. "Mr. Luster?"

Volt, who had been watching the entire exchange, stood up and extended his hand. "That's me."

After a second's hesitation, the assistant shook Volt's hand. In a wavering voice he said, "My name's Tracey Sketchit, a Pokémon Watcher and Professor Oak's aide."

Volt noticed Tracey's shaking hands and suddenly bowed shoulders, but he wasn't surprised at the reaction: even on Vestal, the nineteen-year-old's muscular appearance turned a few heads.

On the other hand, Tracey looked nothing like what Volt had expected from a professor's aide. Instead of a pale-skinned stick of a man with a lab coat and glasses, Tracey was lean without being emaciated, and the fading traces of a tan betrayed that the young man before him was not the type to spend all his days in a laboratory.

"Pokémon Watcher?" Volt asked.

"Yeah!" Tracey said, taking a sketchpad out from the briefcase. "I observe Pokémon in the wild and take sketches of them. Would you like to take a look?" Without giving Volt a second to answer, Tracey brought the sketchpad in front of him. Flipping through the pages, Tracey continued, "You see, I'm originally from the Orange Islands, an archipelago south of here. The islands are home to species of Pokémon in colors you'd never see here on the mainland, as well as one or two species of Pokémon not native to Kanto. Of course, these are only sketches, so you can't see the color—"

Volt loudly cleared his throat.

"Oh! I'm rambling, aren't I?" Tracey said, quickly lowering the sketchbook. "Sorry; I'm just so passionate about Pokémon! But you didn't wait here to hear me just go on and on, did you?" Tracey replaced his book. "Prof. Oak told me yesterday about what happened to you. I'm sorry to hear about that plane crash. I hope everyone else got out alright."

"I hope so, too," Volt said. "I didn't see anyone else there when I came to."

"That's too bad. But they should hopefully turn up before long.

"Anyway, the Professor sent me to give you two things that'll be useful on your way back home to Unova."

Tracey then took a small device from the briefcase. The object was predominantly red and was eight and a quarter inches long and a bit over three inches high. The object was mainly rectangular, but on the left side was a circle, its three-inch radius contributing to the device's eight-and-a-quarter-inch length. To the right of the circle was a design that looked like a city street: there were two grey horizontal stripes, in between which was a thin black stripe, within which was a green dotted line. The "street" had curved sides, parallel to the near arc of the circle.

"This is a Pokémon Index, or 'Pokédex' for short," Tracey said. "It's a device that has information on every Pokémon discovered thus far, and it can give you information on any such Pokémon in front of you. Allow me to demonstrate."

Tracey then opened up the Pokédex. The device had two screens, one on each side. To the left of the top screen were four tiny holes in a diamond formation. To the left of the bottom screen was a cross-shaped button.

Tracey then pointed the Pokédex at Nurse Joy's Chansey. Both screens immediately lit up. On the top screen was a picture of Chansey. A mechanical female voice, higher-pitched than the voice from Volt's Gauntlet, spoke:

"Chansey, the Egg Pokémon. A kindly Pokémon that lays highly nutritious eggs and shares them with injured Pokémon or people."

Volt had an interested expression on his face.

"One more thing," said Tracey. "The Pokédex can serve as a means of identification. If you don't mind, let me help you set it up."

Within a few minutes, Tracey had the Pokédex take Volt's picture and set up its identification function. The Pokédex now showed a picture of Volt and said, "I am Dextra, a Pokédex programmed by Professor Oak for Pokémon Trainer Volt Luster of the Unova region. My function is to provide Volt with information and advice regarding Pokémon and their training. If lost or stolen, I cannot be replaced."

"Thanks," said Volt, taking the Pokédex from Tracey. "And what is the other thing?"

Tracey pulled three Poké Balls out of the briefcase. "Your starter Pokémon." Tracey then threw the Poké Balls into the air and said, "Come on out!"

Emerging from the Poké Balls were three different Pokémon. "These are the three species offered to Kanto Trainers as they start their journey," Tracey explained. "Feel free to analyze them with Dextra."

The leftmost of the three Pokémon was a green, vaguely frog-like quadruped with red eyes and a bulb growing on its back. Volt pointed his Pokédex at it experimentally.

Just like it did in Tracey's hands, the Pokédex activated and showed a picture of the Pokémon on its top screen. "Bulbasaur, the Seed Pokémon," Dextra announced. "A strange seed was planted on its back at birth. The plant sprouts and grows with this Pokémon."

Standing to Bulbasaur's left was an orange bipedal lizard with a beige underbelly, big blue eyes, and a flame at the tip of its tail. Dextra had this to say of the Pokémon: "Charmander, the Lizard Pokémon. From the time it is born, a flame burns at the tip of its tail. Its life would end if the flame were to go out."

Next to Charmander was a blue turtle that was just under two feet tall. It had big eyes and a red shell.

"Squirtle, the Tiny Turtle Pokémon," Dextra informed him. "It shelters itself in its shell, then strikes back with spouts of water at every opportunity."

"Now that you know what they are, pick one of them to accompany you on your journey," Tracey said.

"Just one?!" Volt balked.

"I did say _two_ things, Mr. Luster, not four." Tracey replied, chuckling. "Besides, that's the rule: a Trainer only gets one starter Pokémon."

Volt was at a loss. Which to choose?

_OK, which one is strongest?_ Volt asked himself.

_There ain't no strongest type_, Volt recalled from Kaiser's nighttime lesson. _Each type has its own strengths an' weaknesses. Ya gotta learn how ta use yer Pokémon strategically._

Volt looked again at the Pokémon. _So, we have a Grass/Poison-type, a Fire-type, and a Water-type. So a rock-paper-scissors situation as far as type advantage._

_Wait a sec. Pokémon evolve!_

"Tracey," Volt called.

"Yes?" Tracey answered.

"Can the Pokédex show evolved forms as well?"

"Oh, yeah! I neglected to mention that, didn't I? You can use the Pokédex to get information on any Pokémon, not just whatever may be in front of you at the moment."

Tracey acclimated Volt to the search and scroll functions of the Pokédex, then left Volt to his research.

"Each one of these Pokémon has two evolved forms," Tracey explained. Looking over at Dextra, which was currently displaying a picture of Squirtle, Tracey instructed, "Scroll to the next entry."

After pressing a button, the picture on the Pokédex changed. Replacing the tiny turtle was a picture of a slightly bigger turtle with wing-shaped ears, a brown shell, and a long, fluffy, white tail. Dextra's readout showed that the Pokémon's name was "Wartortle."

Scrolling again, the picture changed to a big turtle with cannon barrels coming out of its back: "Blastoise", according to Dextra.

_Okay, so the tiny turtle turns into a not-so-tiny turtle with a fluffy tail, which then turns into a giant turtle with cannons on its back. Interesting…_

_What about the lizard with the bulb on its back?_

Starting at Bulbasaur, Volt scrolled through its evolutionary line.

_Bulbasaur_ _turns into … a not-so-little lizard with a flower on its back, which in turn becomes … a giant lizard with a tree on its back. That's just weird._

Volt then pulled up Charmander's entry and browsed through it.

_Charmander turns into … hmm, quite a fierce-looking lizard. And this 'Charmeleon' evolves into…?_

At the sight of the last entry on Dextra's upper screen, Volt's eyes widened. He could not believe what was in front of him. It was a wicked-looking red dragon with a roaring flame on its tail. The Pokémon had massive blue-undersided wings that gave it a wingspan longer than its height. It had a proud stance, its head raised in defiance of all comers. Were it not so puny—a mere five-foot-seven—it might have passed for some species of Dragonoid.

"I've made my decision," said Volt.

At those words, the three Pokémon perked up, eager to figure out which one of them the Trainer was going to choose.

"So, you're going with…?" Tracey prompted.

"Charmander," replied Volt.

The lizard smiled happily at the sound of its name. Squirtle and Bulbasaur pouted and turned away from Volt. Volt, seeing that, stooped down and patted each of them on the head.

"Don't worry, you two. I know you'll get the right Trainer someday. Just keep working hard."

The two Pokémon cheered up slightly at Volt's encouragement.

As Tracey returned the other two Pokémon to their Poké Balls, Volt turned to Charmander. "So, Dra—uh, I mean, 'Charmander,' are you ready to accompany me on my journey?"

"Char, char!" the lizard replied.

"Be warned; it's going to be a lot of work! I want to see you become a big, strong Charizard one day."

In response, Charmander shot a stream of embers into the air.

"It seems that you'll be getting along just fine," said Tracey. Chuckling, he added, "It's even starting to act like a Charizard!

"But don't think that I missed that slip of the tongue! Were you just about to nickname your Pokémon?"

"It was only a slip of the tongue," Volt replied. Internally, Volt corrected himself: _It may evolve into a dragon, but it's no Dragonoid. A full-grown _Charizard _wouldn't even be able to pass as a _baby _Dragonoid on New Vestroia!_

"Well, then. Now that you have your first Pokémon, why don't we have it battle?" Tracey asked.

_Battlin's how we Pokémon Trainers get to know one another,_ Kaiser had said. _An' it's good for the Pokémon, too; it gives 'em lotsa exercise, an' though it mimics what they do in the wild, it's in a controlled environment. I don't know what y'all Vestals did with yer Bakugan, but I can guarantee ya that ya don't need ta worry that battlin's anythin' like what ya might have been doin' back on Vestal._

"All right, let's battle," said Volt. "But where exactly are we going to do it? This certainly doesn't look like a fit place to have a battle."

"Follow me," said Nurse Joy. "I know just the place."

**A/N:** If you want to know how I came up with the description of the Fuchsia Pokémon Center, it appears in the episode _Time-Warp Heals All Wounds_ (episode 157 of the Pokémon Advanced Generation series; episode 431 overall).

To make clear why Prof. Oak referred to the discovery of Rhyperior as "recent" (and also to fulfill my promise from last chapter's A/N), this fic takes place at the same time as the tail end of Ash's journey in Sinnoh. You may recall that this story branches off from the _New Vestroia_ episode _Volt's Revolt_. That aired in the US on March 27, 2010. That day is the same air date as that of the _Pokémon_ _Diamond and Pearl _episode _Unlocking the Red Chain of Events_, so I'm setting this fic as being concurrent with that part of the anime.

Special thanks go to Neshomeh for her help in drafting the description of Volt's clothing.


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

_Fuchsia City Pokémon Center_

_29 Ananeosis, 20 Zenoheld / March 30, 20—_

Nurse Joy led the two Trainers downstairs to a facility under the Pokémon Center proper. The room was a vast square that was as big as the entire main floor of the Pokémon Center. Inside were two Pokémon battlefields.

"Wow," Tracey said. "I had no idea that you had a place like this!"

"Impressive setup," Volt commented.

"Given this Pokémon Center's location in the middle of Main Street, there's no way that we could have an outdoor battlefield like other Pokémon Centers do," Nurse Joy explained. "So I recently decided to have this place installed for Trainers to hone their strategies before facing the Fuchsia City Gym.

"If you don't mind, I would like to referee this match," she continued. "I never get a chance to see a new Trainer use his first Pokémon. It didn't look like there were many people coming today, and there's an intercom for Chansey to contact me with if something comes up that needs my attention."

"Fine by me," said Volt.

"Same here," said Tracey.

The battlefield was a big rectangle, 30 yards by 50 yards. Sticking out from the rectangle's short sides were two smaller rectangles, each six by ten yards. The closest of the smaller rectangles was a short walk away from the staircase, which was near the corner of the room. A white line halfway down the length of the battlefield split the field into halves. At the very center of the battlefield was a picture of a Poké Ball, ten yards in diameter.

Tracey took his place at the rectangle closest to the staircase. Volt took his place on the other end. Nurse Joy stood at the sidelines, halfway between the two Trainers.

Nurse Joy announced, "This will be a one-on-one Pokémon battle—"

"Two-on-two," Volt interrupted.

"Sorry?" Nurse Joy asked.

"I have _two_ Pokémon, and I would like to use them both. Let's make this a two-on-two match," Volt answered.

"So do you want a Double Battle, or a Single Battle with each Trainer using two Pokémon?" Tracey asked.

"Wait, what?" Volt asked.

Tracey matched Volt's puzzled expression. "Didn't you say that you were from Unova? I heard that they even have _Triple _Battles there!"

"I haven't been a Trainer for long," Volt quickly interjected. "My specialty is in robotics, so I don't know a lot of the ins and outs of Pokémon battling."

Tracey frowned momentarily, but decided not to press the issue. "Well, the default battle format is a Single Battle, where each Trainer uses one Pokémon at a time. In a Double Battle, each Trainer uses two Pokémon at once," he explained.

_Hmm. So it's like a brawl with the "Double Battle" Gate Card in play_, Volt thought to himself.

"Then I meant a Singles match with two Pokémon per trainer," Volt said.

"I'm fine with that," said Tracey.

"But wait a second," Nurse Joy commented. "You just got your starter Pokémon today. How do you have _two_ Pokémon, Volt?"

"I was in the Safari Zone, remember?" Volt answered.

After a few seconds, realization finally dawned on her. "Oh, yeah! I get it!

"OK, then. This battle will be a two-on-two Singles match, no time limit. The battle is over when both Pokémon on either side are unable to battle. Both Trainers are able to switch Pokémon at any time. Ready?"

"Ready," answered Tracey.

"Ready," said Volt.

"Battle, begin!" said Nurse Joy.

"Scyther, I choose you!" Tracey said, throwing a Poké Ball into the battlefield.

A five-foot-tall green insect emerged from the Ball and landed expertly in the center of the field. It had stocky legs and long, sharp scythe-blades for arms.

Volt pointed his Pokédex at the insect to get a reading on it.

"Scyther, the Mantis Pokémon. Its blindingly fast speed adds to the sharpness of its twin forearm scythes. The scythes can slice through thick logs in one wicked stroke. "

_Those scythes can slice through logs, huh? _Volt thought. _Well, I bet they can't slice through rock!_

"Pokémon, brawl!" Volt said, tossing a Poké Ball into the battlefield. "Rise, Rhyhorn!"

"So _that's_ what you got from the Safari Zone. Nice catch!" Tracey said after Rhyhorn finished materializing. "Let's see what it can do. Scyther, Swords Dance!"

At its Trainer's command, Scyther started to move its scythes in hypnotizing patterns. It bounced from one foot to the other, dancing to a tune that only it knew. The Trainers' only clue to the nature of the music was Scyther's rhythmic chanting, which was to a steadily accelerating beat. Volt noticed that as Scyther danced, its scythe-arms started to glow purple.

_Is this some kind of power-up move?_ Volt thought. _Well, I'm not going to let it finish dancing!_

"Rhyhorn, charge!" Volt commanded.

In response, the Pokémon tilted its head to the side and grunted in confusion.

"Why are you still standing there?" Volt demanded. Pointing at the Scyther, he yelled, "Charge!"

The Rhyhorn still made no move towards the still-dancing mantis.

"Uh, Volt," Nurse Joy interjected. "'Charge' is an Electric-type move. Rhyhorn's a Rock/Ground-type; it doesn't know that move."

"What?" Volt exclaimed. "I'm not telling it to charge up electricity; I'm telling it to ram into that dancing bug!"

In the commotion, Scyther had completed its dance, its scythes now glowing a deep shade of purple.

"A Pokémon won't respond unless you get the attack name right," said Nurse Joy. "You can use the Pokédex to find out what moves your Rhyhorn knows."

After Volt pressed a few buttons, Dextra spoke. "Rhydon's moves, number one: Horn Attack."

_O … kay. Let's see what it does. _"Rhydon, use Horn Attack!" Volt commanded.

Rhydon lowered its head and charged at Scyther, its horn poised to strike the mantis.

"Scyther, dodge and use X-Scissor!" Tracey commanded.

At the last second, Scyther dashed to its right, sidestepping the charging Spikes Pokémon. It then flew at Rhydon's side, its scythes crossed in front of it. It then slashed at the Pokémon in a cross pattern and bounced back a few feet after attacking.

The attack, however, did little damage; Rhydon's only reaction was to shake its rump as if someone had merely tickled it there.

Volt consulted the Pokédex again.

"Rhyhorn's attacks, number two: Stomp," Dextra said.

"Rhyhorn, use Stomp!" Volt said.

"Scyther, dodge and use Swords Dance again!" Tracey commanded.

Rhyhorn turned to face Scyther and reared up upon its hind legs. It then attempted to stomp on the Mantis Pokémon with its front legs, only to hit the ground; Scyther darted away at the last second and began another Swords Dance right next to Rhyhorn. Rhyhorn shuffled again towards Scyther and tried to land another Stomp, but its second attack was no more successful than the first; Scyther was too fast a target for the slow-moving Rock-type to hit.

"Scyther, use X-Scissor again!" Tracey commanded.

Scyther jumped back a few yards, then flew at Rhyhorn again, its scythes now glowing an electric blue. Rhyhorn had no chance at dodging the strengthened X-Scissor, which elicited an annoyed grunt from it upon impact.

_So, Pokémon can use their moves more than once, _Volt observed. _Good thing to know, but useless unless I can find some way to slow that bug down!_

Volt checked the Pokédex again.

"Rhyhorn's moves, number three: Magnitude," Dextra said.

"Rhyhorn, use Magnitude!" Volt commanded.

Rhyhorn reared onto its hind legs again, then slammed its front legs onto the ground with as much force as it could muster. The immediate area started to crack and buckle, but Scyther flew over the shockwave when it crossed the battlefield.

"It's not every day that you run across a Rhyhorn that knows Magnitude! That Pokémon must have an interesting lineage," Nurse Joy commented.

"Unfortunately for you, though, Scyther can fly right over Ground-type attacks," Tracey said. "Good try, though."

Volt's annoyance was clearly visible on his face. _Argh! That bug has an answer for every single thing that I do! There has _got_ to be a way to slow that thing down!_

"Rhyhorn's attacks, number four," said Dextra. "Rock Tomb."

"Sounds promising," Volt said. "Rhyhorn, use Rock Tomb!"

Rhyhorn reared onto its hind legs again. Its front feet glowed white, and it slammed the ground hard. Giant rocks then protruded around Scyther, trapping it.

_Finally, we've got that bug in place! Now to bring on the hurt!_

"Rhyhorn, use Horn Attack!" Volt commanded.

"Scyther, use X-Scissor to get out of there!" Tracey said, frantic.

From inside the Rock Tomb, one could hear the sounds of Scyther hacking away at the stone. Meanwhile, Rhyhorn charged at the Rock Tomb from outside.

As Scyther felt the footsteps of the charging Rhyhorn get closer and closer, it hacked at the Rock Tomb more frantically. A small hole eventually broke from the Rock Tomb, and when Scyther looked through it, it knew that there was no hope.


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

_Fuchsia City Pokémon Center_

_29 Ananeosis, 20 Zenoheld / March 30, 20—_

After numerous slashes at the unyielding rock, Scyther finally managed to break a hole in the barrier surrounding it. The Mantis Pokémon glanced through the hole that it had created, only to find Rhyhorn charging its way at full speed.

A moment later, Rhyhorn's Horn Attack shattered the Rock Tomb, sending Scyther and rubble flying. When the rubble settled, Scyther was badly bruised.

_Finally, a way to hit that annoying bug!_ Volt thought._ Better strike while the iron is hot._

"Rhyhorn, use Rock Tomb again!" Volt commanded.

Rhyhorn erected another Rock Tomb around the buried Scyther.

"Horn Attack!" Volt ordered.

Rhyhorn charged towards the rock-entombed Scyther again, eager to take its opponent down in one final charge.

The Spikes Pokémon crashed through the Rock Tomb, sending Scyther and a lot of rubble flying past Tracey and landing halfway between the Trainer and the wall behind him. Scyther was out cold.

Nurse Joy raised an arm in Volt's direction. "Scyther is unable to battle! Rhyhorn wins!"

"Good work, Rhyhorn!" Volt said.

Rhyhorn grunted in affirmation.

Tracey ran towards his battered Pokémon. "Scyther, are you OK?" he said, worried.

Coming to, the battered Pokémon was able to utter a weak "Scyther."

"It's good to hear your voice, buddy," Tracey said. "You deserve a good rest. Scyther, return!" The Poké Ball now in Tracey's hand shot out a red laser beam, which turned Scyther into a mass of red plasma that was then sucked into the Poké Ball.

"Rhyhorn, return!" Volt said, pointing his Poké Ball at the Pokémon. Just like with Scyther, Rhyhorn returned to its Poké Ball.

"That was a good battle, Mr. Luster. And a good strategy too, using Rock Tomb to trap my Pokémon. It's not every day that somebody manages to beat Scyther," Tracey said as he returned to his position at the side of the battlefield. "But don't expect the next round to go so easily!"

"I'm ready when you are," said Volt, eager to resume the battle.

"Then let's see how you handle my next Pokémon," Tracey replied. "Venonat, I choose you!"

The Pokémon that came from Tracey's Poké Ball appeared to be little more than a ball of purple fuzz. It had big, red compound eyes, two antennae that emerged from points between the eyes, stubby hands and feet, and an insectoid mouth.

Volt pointed Dextra at the bug.

"Venonat, the Insect Pokémon," Dextra said. "Its coat of thin, stiff hair that covers its entire body is said to have evolved for protection. Its large eyes never fail to spot even miniscule prey."

_He's sending out _another_ Bug-type?_ Volt thought. _Is he deliberately using Pokémon that are weak against mine?_

"Hey, Tracey!" Volt called out. "Are you trying to go easy on me? I may be a new Trainer, but I don't need your pity!"

"Don't underestimate my Venonat," Tracey replied. "I know that your other Pokémon is Charmander, but don't think that it's going to be a walk in the park just because you have a type advantage!"

"Fine, then," Volt said. "Pokémon, brawl!

"Rise, Charmander!"

Upon emerging from its Poké Ball, Charmander loosed a stream of embers into the air.

Volt looked at Dextra's entry on Charmander's moves. _So, it knows Ember, Growl, Scratch, and Smoke Screen. Well, I know what to do here._

Volt started to issue a command: "Charmander—"

But he got interrupted by Tracey: "Venonat, use Supersonic!"

At its Trainer's command, Venonat issued an odd-sounding screech at Charmander. As the insect's screech reached its opponent, Charmander started wobbling on its feet.

"Charmander?" Volt said warily.

"Venonat's Supersonic confuses the opposing Pokémon," Nurse Joy explained. "Charmander will snap out of it eventually, but until it does, its attacks might miss or even hurt itself.

"If you don't want to take that risk, you can switch back to Rhyhorn; a Pokémon immediately snaps out of confusion once it returns to its Poké Ball."

Volt pondered his options._ If I switch back to Rhyhorn, I'll certainly win—I doubt that Rhyhorn could hurt itself even if it tried. But let's see how effective this "confusion" thing is._

"Charmander, use Ember!" Volt commanded.

At its Trainer's command, the Lizard Pokémon fired a stream of embers from its mouth. However, its attack, badly aimed due to the confusion, widely missed its target.

_If I get closer, I shouldn't be able to miss._ "Charmander, use Scratch!"

Charmander raised its arm and charged towards the Venonat.

"Venonat, Confusion!" Tracey ordered.

Venonat's eyes glowed blue. A blue aura surrounded Charmander as Venonat used its telekinetic power to lift the lizard off of the ground. Still in the throes of confusion, Charmander was still moving its legs, believing itself to be getting ever closer to Venonat.

After a while, it swiped its claws—

—and was snapped back to reality as it Scratched its own leg.

"Char!" the Pokémon cried out in its pain.

To add insult to injury, Venonat chose that very moment to release Charmander from its psychic hold, dropping the Pokémon right on its tail. Another cry of "CHAR!" could be heard at the moment of impact.

After it cried out, Charmander sat up. It then shook its head, and having regained its bearings, it rose and shot a stream of embers into the air.

_It must have snapped out of its confusion,_ Volt thought. Now let's see what those embers can actually do against an opponent.

"Charmander, use Ember!" Volt commanded.

"Venonat, Signal Beam!" commanded Tracey.

At their Trainers' commands, the Pokémon fired their attacks at each other. The projectiles met midway between the two, scattering light and embers in all directions.

"Don't give up, Charmander!" Volt encouraged.

"Venonat, give it all you've got!" said Tracey.

The two attacks pushed against one another for what seemed like an eternity. However, after a few seconds' struggle, the Signal Beam started to push the Ember stream back. Before long, Charmander was knocked down by a direct hit from Venonat's attack.

"Char," the Pokémon said weakly as it lay supine on the floor.

"Charmander, are you alright?" Volt asked. "If this is too much for you, I can let Rhyhorn take over the battle."

In response, Charmander struggled to get back onto its feet. Once it was upright, it slowly turned towards its Trainer and shot another stream of embers straight up into the air.

"You don't give up that easily, do you?" Volt said.

"Char, char!" Charmander said, shaking its head.

_But Charmander's taken so much punishment already. It would make more tactical sense to switch to Rhyhorn._

_Then again, if I switch, that might come back to haunt me in the long run. Best to show Charmander that I won't give up on it. Even if it loses, I'll _still_ have the opportunity to finish Venonat off with Rhyhorn._

"OK, then," Volt concluded. Pointing towards Venonat, he added, "Let's show that purple fuzzball what you can really do!"

"Charmander!" It flexed its arms determinedly, then turned back toward Venonat with a small, fierce glare.

Turning towards Tracey, Volt noticed that Tracey had his sketchpad out and was drawing something.

"Tracey, it's never a good idea to take your attention away from a brawl," Volt said.

"But your Charmander showed such determination that I just had to outline a few sketches. Its fighting spirit is definitely something to be memorialized!"

"OK, then," Volt sighed. "If that's the case, then prepare to sketch your Venonat cringing in defeat! Charmander, Smoke Screen!"

At its Trainer's command, Charmander belched a cloud of thick black smoke that completely enveloped it.

"Don't think that you can trick Venonat that easily!" said Tracey. "Venonat, use Foresight!"

_That Team Rocket woman wanted something that used "Foresight" when she first saw Boriates, _Volt thought._ But it didn't do anything to him, so why would Tracey use this move? Is he stalling?_

From where Volt stood, he saw red spotlights cut straight through the smoke far to his left. They swept towards him as Venonat scanned through the smoke. The beams stopped at a point halfway between Volt and the edge of the battlefield.

"There he is!" Tracey exclaimed. "Use Confusion!"

"Don't give it the chance to concentrate, Charmander!" Volt commanded. "Ember!"

Volt didn't see what happened, but a cry of "Char!" followed by a pained "Nat!" told Volt that the Ember had hit its mark.

"Charmander, finish it off with a barrage of Scratches!"

As the smokescreen began to dissipate, Volt saw Charmander hitting Venonat with a flurry of swipes from both arms. The Insect Pokémon began to wither under the assault.

"Don't think that you've won just yet!" Tracey retorted. "There are quite a few surprises hidden under Venonat's coat. Venonat, use Sleep Powder!"

_Sleep?! I can't afford to have Charmander doze off now!_ "Back off, Charmander!" Volt commanded. "Now!"

Charmander obeyed in the nick of time, managing to get just out of range of the blue cloud that was now emanating from Venonat.

"Now finish it off with Ember!" Volt commanded.

Charmander took another step backwards, took a deep breath, and let loose a red-hot stream of embers towards Venonat. A pained cry issued from the Insect Pokémon as it succumbed to the super-effective Fire attack.

When the stream of embers stopped, Venonat, covered in ashes, fell to the ground.

"Venonat is unable to battle," announced Nurse Joy. "The winner is Charmander!" Turning to Volt, she continued, "That means that the winner of the battle is Volt Luster!"

"Char!" cheered Charmander as it ran toward Volt. Once it was a few feet away, it jumped towards its Trainer, who picked it up and let it wrap its arms around his head.

"That was a good battle, Charmander," said Volt.

"Char, char!" said the Pokémon, bursting with pride.

After setting Charmander onto the ground, Volt said, "You know, I think I might have a nickname for you after all."

"Char?" said the lizard, head cocked at an angle.

"But first, I have a question for Tracey, so return for now." After Charmander returned to its Poké Ball, Volt yelled, "Hey, Tracey!"

"Yes, Mr. Luster?"

"That attack you did just there, Foresight. What does it actually do?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm not familiar with that move. What are its effects?"

Tracey looked towards Nurse Joy, concern clearly evident on his face. "Nurse Joy, I think we may have a problem here."

"What do you mean?" Nurse Joy asked.

"He claims to be from Unova, but he didn't know what a Double Battle is. According to Kaiser, he used to have Pokémon, but he didn't know what 'Charge' was, and now he's asking about Foresight. Perhaps that plane crash did more to him than we thought."

Nurse Joy's eyes widened and she nodded. "I'll call the hospital right away."

_No! If I end up institutionalized, I might never return to Vestal!_

Tossing his Safari Ball, Volt commanded, "Rhyhorn, rise!"

**A/N:** And thus ends Volt's first battle. Regarding Tracey's choice of Pokémon, I know that he has a Marill. However, it would have been a total loss for Volt if Tracey were to use it. So, in a sense, Tracey did go easy on Volt—he gave Volt a difficult victory instead of a total loss.


	12. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

_Fuchsia City Pokémon Center_

_29 Ananeosis, 20 Zenoheld / March 30, 20—_

"Rhyhorn, use Rock Tomb to seal the exit!" Volt commanded.

Nurse Joy was forced to stop when she saw the ring of rocks emerge in front of the stairs.

"What are you doing?" Tracey said in shock.

"I can't have you sending me to some institution!" Volt exclaimed.

"No one is saying that you're crazy, Mr. Luster. Just that perhaps you may have suffered amnesia from the plane crash," Tracey said placatingly.

"I'm perfectly fine, Tracey," Volt said, arms raised. "I told you before that Pokémon battling was never my strong suit."

"OK, then. If indeed your memory is intact, then can you tell me where in Johto your plane was headed?"

_Drat, _he thought. _Well, all the cities here seem to be named after colors, so …_

"Violet City," Volt guessed.

"There _aren't _any airports in Violet City," Tracey replied. He quickly pulled something out of a pocket and threw it towards the nurse. "Nurse Joy, catch!"

"Rhyhorn, use Rock Tomb on Nurse Joy!" Volt commanded.

At once, a Rock Tomb trapped Nurse Joy. The device clattered helplessly against the rock and fell to the ground. Tracey bent down to pick up the device, but pulled his arm back as a yellow energy sword sliced down to rest in front of the device.

Tracey looked up the sword and saw that it had emerged from some type of bracelet that was around Volt's left arm. Volt was now standing to Tracey's right, slightly crouched so that the energy sword stayed between Tracey and the device. Volt's face had an expression of pure panic.

"What's going on?" Tracey demanded.

"I told you before, it's imperative that I _not _be taken to some hospital!" Volt said. "Now tell me, is that some kind of communications device?"

"Yes. It's a Pokégear," Tracey said hesitantly.

Volt moved around slowly, re-positioning himself to stand behind Tracey. The sword was now dangerously close to Tracey's neck. "Is it intact?"

Tracey picked up the device, which was roughly rectangular and on had one side of it what Volt assumed to be a cylindrical hinge of some sort. An orange button stuck out from one end of the cylinder. Volt didn't see any cracks in the blue finish or the white Poke Ball-like design on the sides.

"Well, the outside's fine, but I need to see if the hinge mechanism and the screen are OK," Tracey said.

"Fine. But if you activate it…" Volt said, inching the sword closer to Tracey's neck.

Tracey quickly pushed the orange button, which made the Pokégear open lengthwise; the cylinder was _not_ a hinge as Volt had thought. Similarly to the Pokédex, the device had two screens. Both were black, but neither showed any trace of damage.

"It's not broken," Tracey said.

"Good. Rhyhorn, let Nurse Joy go," Volt commanded.

The rocks surrounding Nurse Joy sank slowly into the ground. Nurse Joy was relieved to get out of the Rock Tomb, but her eyes widened in shock as she saw the scene before her: Volt with a sword next to Tracey's neck.

"Don't make any sudden moves," Volt warned. "I don't want to hurt Tracey."

"What do you want?" said Nurse Joy.

"Tracey, I'll deactivate this sword, but promise me that you'll use your … Pokégear to call Kaiser."

"Why Kaiser?" Tracey asked.

"Don't you want an explanation? Everyone is high-strung right now, and you think that I have some type of brain damage. So we need someone other than me to explain. Call Kaiser," Volt replied.

"But I don't know how to call Kaiser," Tracey said.

"Do you, Nurse Joy?" Volt said.

"Yes," the nurse replied hesitantly.

"If I let Tracey give you the Pokégear, will you call Kaiser?" Volt said.

"If that's what it takes," said Nurse Joy.

Volt entered the sword's deactivation code into his Gauntlet. "Deal," he said.

Tracey gingerly rubbed his neck near where the where the sword had been and handed the Pokégear to Nurse Joy.

"I'm sure you mean well, but remember; you're only calling Kaiser." Volt moved to stand behind Nurse Joy.

Nurse Joy gulped, then activated the Pokégear. Volt noticed that the bottom screen had a set of buttons with Earthling numerals on them. Nurse Joy inputted a sequence of numbers into the bottom screen, and before long, the top screen showed the Kaiser's face.

At first, the old man seemed perplexed, but as he noticed Nurse Joy, and Volt standing behind her, his expression brightened considerably.

"_Howdy, Nurse Joy!_" Kaiser said. "_An' it looks like Volt managed ta find his way to ya OK. But whaddya doin' callin' me from someone else's Pokégear?_"

"Hi, Kaiser," Nurse Joy replied in a shaky voice. "Funny that you'd bring Volt up; he's actually the reason why I'm calling you from a Pokégear. I was planning on calling a hospital, but he … strongly insisted I call no one else but you."

Kaiser slapped his forehead. "_What did ya do now, ya musclehead?_"

"I didn't do anything!" Volt insisted. "I simply had a Pokémon brawl—uh, battle—with Prof. Oak's assistant, and afterwards I asked him about this move "Foresight". For whatever reason, he decided that _that_ was reason enough to think that I had brain damage!"

"That's not the problem at all!" Tracey called out, rushing towards the Pokégear. He then explained the sequence of events leading up to the call.

After Tracey's explanation, Kaiser laughed. "_Well, if there were any holes in the cover story, it's good that they came out now!_" After another hearty laugh, Kaiser continued, "_Alright, here's the truth. That man over there, he ain't human._"

"Hey, that's not a nice thing to say, even if he threatened to kill me," Tracey objected.

"_I ain't tryin' ta insult him; that's the truth!_" Kaiser replied. "_He's some kinda alien. He said that he was from planet Besta or somethin'._"

"'Vestal'," Volt replied.

"_Either way, I know that yer medical doohickeys're meant fer Pokémon, Nurse Joy, but Imma guess that ya got somethin' in there that'll show ya that he ain't lyin',_" Kaiser said.

"Well, that depends. Would you please have your Rhyhorn take down that Rock Tomb blocking the stairs?" Nurse Joy asked.

* * *

In a back room of the Pokémon Center, Nurse Joy was examining Volt with an ultrasound machine.

"There's no other word for it but 'fascinating'!" Nurse Joy exclaimed, "Sure, there are some structures that are analogous to those in humans—heart, lungs, stomach—but there are others here that aren't human or Pokémon in nature!"

"I see why you were hesitant to get help," Tracey said, Pokégear in hand. "If you tried to tell someone that you were an alien…."

"Exactly why I didn't want to be hospitalized!" Volt said.

"But couldn't you have done something a bit less … drastic?" Nurse Joy explained.

"_Enough dwellin' on that; at least everythin's squared away now, right?_" Kaiser said. "_Now then, do y'all need anythin' more from me? Lunch hour's almost over, an' I need ta get back ta my post before the rush begins!_"

"We've got it from here," Nurse Joy said.

"_Good. Help him out an' get him on his way home if'n ya can. Arceus willin', I shouldn't be hearin' another word about him again unless it's him callin' ta say that he found a way back ta Vestal,_" Kaiser said.

"Will do. Bye, Kaiser," Nurse Joy said.

"_See ya, Nurse Joy_," Kaiser said, terminating the call.

"Now that we got that out of the way, could you please answer my question about 'Foresight', Tracey?" asked Volt.

"Oh, right! Sorry about that, Mr. Luster," Tracey said while Nurse Joy cleaned Volt up. "Foresight is a move that allows a Pokémon to see through illusions and obstacles. Its main use in battle is to allow Normal- and Fighting-type moves to hit Ghost-type Pokémon."

_That must be why Cassidy tried to use Foresight on Boriates that day_, Volt reasoned. _She thought that it was some kind of illusion. Makes sense if she was unacquainted with Bakugan._ Volt sighed. _What does that mean for my chances of getting home?_

"Am I going to attract this much attention by asking about Pokémon moves?" Volt asked.

"Not usually, no. The combination of things you didn't know about battling made me ask about your memory," Tracey explained.

"I apologize for what I did there," Volt said.

Tracey rubbed the back of his neck. "Apology accepted. You scared the daylights out of me, though."

"At least everything worked out in the end," Nurse Joy added.

"Oh, and one more thing," Tracey commented. "Weren't you also about to nickname your Charmander?"

_That human must have a memory like a steel trap!_ Volt thought. "That's right! I almost forgot. I might as well run the names past you, to be safe," Volt said. After having the equipment and bed moved to a wall, Volt tossed both of his Poké Balls. "Rhyhorn, Charmander: rise!"

Turning to Charmander, he said, "Charmander, the way you brawled—uh, I mean 'battled'—back there, you remind me of a hero of old. He had a fiery spirit and was steadfast in battle. Tell me: how would you like to be called 'Apollonir'?"

"'Apollonir,'" Nurse Joy pondered. "That's not a very common name, but it doesn't say 'extraterrestrial' to me."

"Sounds like some Norse demigod to me," said Tracey.

"OK then. Charmander?" Volt asked.

"Char-man-der-char," Charmander said pensively, as if saying the name to itself. It then brought a claw to its chin.

After a second, Charmander nodded, a wide smile on its face. "Char!"

"OK then," said Volt. "And you, Rhyhorn, what do you think of the name 'Clayf'?"

Both Nurse Joy and Tracey nodded their affirmation, then looked towards Rhyhorn. The Pokémon did not take long to think before grunting its acceptance of the new name.

"That settles it. From now on, you, Charmander, shall be known as Pyrus Apollonir. And you, Rhyhorn, are Subterra Clayf.

"Apollonir, Clayf: return!"

****A/N:******Yes, I did just have Volt name his Pokémon after two of the Six Legendary Soldiers of Vestroia. I picture Volt as someone who admires strong battlers, even if they are his enemies. And given that Charmander's final evolution looks like a dragon anyway, I think that the name Apollonir fits especially well.**


	13. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

_Kanto Route 15_

_30 Ananeosis, 20 Zenoheld / March 31, 20—_

Volt, on his way to Vermillion City, was headed down Route 15.

He was glad to have been able to get through Fuchsia City without being the center of attention again. Volt had bought a change of clothes after the events of the previous day; he was now wearing a white jacket over a red T-shirt. Three black straps held the front of the jacket together over the shirt. His Gauntlet was on his left arm, hidden under the sleeve of his jacket.

His lower-body wear was unchanged from his Vexos uniform: he still wore his belt, a pair of black pants, and white boots, each with a zipper up the middle and two parallel yellow stripes running around the sides and back of the cuff.

A black duffel bag was hanging from his right shoulder; Volt had lost the canvas bag that he had taken with him from the Vestal Motherpalace. Among the things in the duffel bag were the top half of his Vexos uniform, some camping supplies, his Poké Balls, and a book on the Unova region; Volt was determined not to be caught ignorant of the place that he supposedly came from.

A few yards into the Route, he heard a familiar-sounding voice croak, "Volt! That … you?"

Looking around, Volt found a blonde-haired girl by the side of the road. She was struggling as if her muscles had turned to gelatin.

"Maya!" Volt cried out. He rushed to her side and asked, "What happened?"

"Team … Roc…ket. Thun…der Wave. Look … out!"

Maya's warning came too late. Volt felt a shock to his back before he, too, fell to the ground, his muscles unable to keep him standing.

"What … just … happened?" Volt rasped.

Volt's question was met with a wave of cackling. Two familiar people emerged from atop a nearby tree.

"Prepare for trouble; remember us?"

"And make it double; you've caused quite a fuss!"

"To infect the world with devastation!"

"To blight all peoples in every nation!"

"To denounce the goodness of truth and love!"

"To extend our wrath to the stars above!"

"Cassidy!"

"And Butch, of course!"

"We're Team Rocket, circling Earth all day and night!"

"Surrender to us now, or you'll surely lose the fight!"

"Raticate!" The giant rat appeared from behind the tree, its fur sticking out in all directions.

"Team … Roc…ket!" Volt croaked. "How…?"

Butch answered, "I believe I told you that Team Rocket is no 'little gang.' Our agents are everywhere, and they led us straight to you."

Butch then grabbed Volt's duffel bag, saying, "Now if you don't mind, I'll be relieving you of this duffel bag."

Meanwhile, Cassidy took the two Poké Balls from Volt's belt and stuffed them into the duffel bag. She then started to rifle through the pockets of Volt's jacket when something whipped her hands.

"What was that?" Cassidy blurted out.

"Me-ga!" The whips returned, shoving Cassidy away from Volt and onto her partner.

_Are those…vines…?_ Volt wondered.

The source of the Vine Whip was a green quadrupedal Pokémon that had a large pink flower at the base of its long neck. The Pokémon rushed between Volt and the Rockets, barring them any further access to him.

"Get out of the way, you long-necked nuisance!" Butch said. "This is none of your business."

"Leave … Volt … alone!" Maya rasped.

"Me-ga!" the Pokémon assented, brandishing its Vine Whips.

"We don't need to create a scene so close to the city!" Cassidy said. "Besides, we might already have what we were looking for. Let's get out of here, Hutch!"

"The name's 'Butch'!" Butch whined as he ran after Cassidy.

After the Rockets sped away, the Pokémon's flower started to give off a multicolored glow. Light green waves of energy started to wash over Volt and Maya, and a soothing floral scent that Volt could not identify accompanied the light. As the waves of light and scent washed over Volt, he felt the strength return to his muscles. When he finally stood up, he pointed Dextra at the Pokémon.

"Meganium, the Herb Pokémon. Anyone who stands beside it becomes refreshed, just as if they were relaxing in a sunny forest."

"Nice work, Meganium," Maya said, patting its head. "Like I wanted to say, Team Rocket nabbed some of my Pokémon. After they paralyzed me, one of them kept a lookout while the other was taking my Pokémon. Lucky for us they didn't get Meganium; without its Aromatherapy, we'd still be flopping around like a couple of Magikarp!

"Those Rockets seemed to be expecting _you_, though. Before they could take all my Pokémon, they both hid themselves all of a sudden. What exactly did they want from you, anyway? They took two Pokémon from you, but it sounded like they wanted something else."

"They did." After patting himself down and feeling Boriates' marble in the inside pocket that he put it in, he continued, "Fortunately, they didn't get it."

"They still have your Pokémon, though," Maya said. "Sorry I wasn't of much help."

"Don't worry about it," Volt said. "It wasn't your fault."

Maya looked through her remaining Poké Balls. Looking up with a shocked expression, she exclaimed, "It isn't here!"

"What isn't here?" Volt asked.

"The Safari Ball isn't here! Team Rocket has it! Do you know what this means?"

"A Safari Ball … you don't mean … "

"Exactly!" She grabbed Volt's shoulders. "_They have my Chansey!_ The Chansey that I spent _two weeks _in the Safari Zone to try to catch! We've gotta get after them!"

In an attempt to cheer Maya, he said, "Look, I don't know much about Pokémon, but I do know crooks. Once they figure out that they didn't get what they came for, they'll try to get back at me again. We should just be alert for when they show up again."

"I guess you're right." Maya said, letting go of Volt. "It's just that I tried so hard, just to have my efforts come to nothing!"

* * *

After walking down the Route for a few minutes, Volt noticed a big black mass slowly become visible above the tree line. Pointing to it, he said, "Maya, what's that?"

Looking in the direction Volt pointed, Maya said, "I don't know, but it looks like an inflating hot-air balloon."

"But whose hot-air balloon is it?"

A design soon became visible on the balloon: the top of a stylized red letter.

"A red letter on a black background?" Maya said. "That balloon must belong to Team Rocket! Come on, Volt; let's get them before they get away with our Pokémon!"

* * *

A few minutes later, Volt and Maya entered a tree-lined clearing on the northern side of the Route, where Team Rocket's balloon was parked. On the northern edge of the clearing were Cassidy and Butch, standing in front of their balloon.

"There you are, Team Rocket!" Maya said. "Now give us back our Pokémon!"

"If it isn't the blonde and the musclehead," Cassidy said. "We were actually waiting for you, Volt; we were beginning to think that perhaps the balloon wasn't a clear enough sign."

"Huh?" Maya said. "You weren't trying to run away?"

"Why should we? What your friend there has is worth much more than a few measly Pokémon," Cassidy replied.

"So just give Boraïtes to us, and we'll gladly give both of you your Pokémon back," Butch said.

"That's not going to happen," said Volt. "And come on, _Botch_. If you're going to steal something, at least know its name!"

"You got my name wrong on purpose, didn't you?!" Butch raved. "At least _my_ name isn't some Greek tongue-twister! Once we get that robot from you, the first thing we'll do is give it a new name!"

"I don't know what 'Greek' is, but 'Boriates' is far from a tongue-twister," Volt retorted.

"And neither is 'Frisker,'" Cassidy interjected, a remote now visible in her hands. "Allow me to demonstrate. Frisker, activate!"

Immediately, Volt felt his hands get restrained from behind. Before Volt could even react, another pair of hands emerged out of nowhere and grabbed Volt by his sides, pulling the now-struggling Vestal towards their source: a robot that was emerging from the trees, dragging Volt away from Maya and towards the western edge of the clearing. The robot was simplistic in design: a black cylinder with an "R" in the front. A multitude of arms extended from all over the cylinder, of which four were presently holding onto Volt.

"Let Volt go!" said Maya. She tossed a Poké Ball in the general direction of the robot. "Medicham, come on out!"

Emerging from Maya's Poké Ball was a humanoid Pokémon with grey skin, a pink headpiece, and bulky pink legs with yellow knees.

"Oh, no, you don't!" Cassidy said. "Houndoom, intercept it with Flamethrower!"

Medicham was forced to step back as a jet of flames roared between it and the still-bound Volt.

Volt took a look at Cassidy's Pokémon: it was a black canine creature with backward-curving horns for ears and a tail with an arrowhead-shaped tip.

In the meanwhile, the Frisker managed to pull Volt towards itself, at which point two more arms clutched Volt tightly across the belly, while the four arms that previously held Volt now spread his arms and legs out. Another two arms then started frisking the still-squirming Volt.

"I'll save you, Volt!" Maya called out. Throwing another Poké Ball, she said, "Meganium, cut him loose with Razor Leaf!"

Meganium emerged from its Poké Ball and launched a bunch of razor-edged leaves from the flower on its neck.

"Forgot about me?" Butch cut in. "Hitmontop, intercept that with Rolling Kick!"

A squat brown humanoid Pokémon with a tail and a horn on its head emerged from Butch's Poké Ball. To Volt's surprise, the Pokémon balanced itself on its horn and spun like a top towards Meganium's attack. It kicked the stream of Razor Leaves away from the Frisker almost as fast as they arrived.

At that moment, one of the Frisker's arms had taken hold of Volt's Gauntlet. The arm retracted into its body, came out empty-handed a second later, and quickly rejoined the other in searching Volt.

"So, are those all the Pokémon that you have left?" Cassidy said to Maya. "Looks like you won't be able to save your friend after all!"

"All I have to do is beat your Pokémon and dismantle that robot!" Maya replied. "Piece of cake."

"Let's see about that!" Butch said. "Hitmontop, use Triple Kick on Meganium!"

Hitmontop spun and smacked Meganium across the body three times: once with each foot, and once with its tail. The attack forced Meganium back a few inches, but did not do much damage.

"Medicham, use Confusion on Hitmontop!" Maya commanded.

Medicham's eyes glowed blue, and a blue aura started to appear around Hitmontop.

"Houndoom, get that Medicham!" Cassidy ordered.

Houndoom charged towards Medicham, barking furiously. Medicham had enough time to turn and face it before it leaped and struck Medicham in the gut. The aura around Hitmontop promptly vanished, and Houndoom growled.

"Aw, come on!" Maya groused.

"Good boy, Houndoom! Use Crunch to keep that Medicham distracted!"

"Help it out with Triple Kick!" Butch said to Hitmontop.

"Are you serious?" Maya remarked. "Meganium, intercept Hitmontop with Vine Whip! Medicham, dodge Houndoom and counter with Force Palm!"

A Vine Whip grabbed Hitmontop's tail and stopped it in its tracks. Meganium then wrapped another whip around one of Hitmontop's legs and set the Pokémon spinning right across the clearing and crashing into a tree.

Medicham easily sidestepped the lunging Houndoom and landed a fierce open-palm strike on its ribs. It then shot an energy blast from its palm, sending Houndoom a short distance away.

Meanwhile, another arm of the Frisker searched Volt's jacket and removed his Ability Cards from an inside pocket.

"All right, Meganium, new plan: Stop that robot!" Maya said.

Meganium ran towards the Frisker, Vine Whips ready to go.

"We're not done yet! Houndoom, Flamethrower!" Cassidy countered.

Maya rolled her eyes. "Yes, you are," she said flatly. "Medicham, another good Force Palm ought to finish Houndoom off."

As Houndoom prepared to attack Meganium, Medicham appeared in front of it and blasted the dog Pokémon with another Force Palm, knocking it out.

Meanwhile, Meganium Vine Whipped the robot's arms away from Volt in time to keep it from finding Boriates.

"Medicham, use Confusion to dismantle that robot!" Maya commanded.

Using its telekinetic powers, Medicham ripped all of the Frisker's arms off. After the robot stopped sparking, Volt reached inside the robot and reclaimed his Gauntlet and Ability Cards.

"Thanks, Maya," Volt said.

"No problem," she replied. Putting a finger to her chin, she mock-wondered aloud, "Well, now that Volt got his stuff back from the Frisker, what's left to do?" She snapped her fingers as if in realization. "That's right!" Pointing at Team Rocket, she ordered, "Team Rocket, give me back my Pokémon!"

"I can tell when we're beat," Cassidy said as she and Butch recalled their Pokémon. Reaching into the basket of the hot-air balloon, she pulled out Volt's duffel bag. Tossing it to Maya, she said, "Catch!"

Maya caught the duffel bag just as the hot-air balloon started to ascend. Quickly searching through the bag, Maya noticed that there were no Poké Balls inside.

"Hey, you tricked me!" Maya whined.

"Finders, keepers!" the Rockets taunted from inside their steadily rising hot-air balloon.

"Well, let's at least give them back _their_ stuff," Maya said. "Medicham?"

Using its psychic powers, Medicham threw one of the detached Frisker arms at the hot-air balloon. The ragged edge at the shoulder joint of the ripped-off Frisker arm punctured a hole in the balloon, causing it to deflate and descend.

When the balloon landed, Maya said, "Medicham, use Confusion!"

A blue aura surrounded the two Rockets, pulling them out of the basket of the hot-air balloon.

Maya said, "Now let me ask you again: Where are my Pokémon?"

The Rockets did not answer.

"Suit yourselves! Medicham?"

The Rockets were then turned upside down and shaken up and down, as if their legs were in the hand of a giant invisible baby. Poké Balls and other knickknacks fell from the airborne Rockets.

"Medicham, keep those Rockets off the ground until I get my Pokémon back," Maya ordered.

"Medi-cham," Medicham assented, nodding its head.

Maya and Volt then looked through the Poké Balls, sending out and returning Pokémon until their Pokémon were found.

Volt was the first to find one: Apollonir, which hugged Volt for joy at having been rescued.

Next to be found was a giant brown bird with a long neck, a long beak, and a pink crown. Maya punched the air when she saw it. "Yay! We got my Fearow back! Now let's find Misdreavus and Chansey."

After a few more seconds, Maya found a Safari Ball amongst the Poké Balls in the group. Her eyes widened, and she opened it fairly quickly. Instead of her Chansey, however, Clayf emerged from it. "Oh. Oh, well. This one's yours, Volt," she said, tossing him the Safari Ball.

After Volt recalled Clayf, he found another Safari Ball. "Then this must be Chansey," he said, tossing the ball to Maya.

Maya sent out the Pokémon, and indeed, inside was her Chansey. Maya got on her knees and embraced her once-lost Pokémon.

"Chansey!" she cried. "You have no idea how devastated I was when they took you!"

Chansey put its stubby arm on Maya's shoulder and cooed reassuringly.

After a few more seconds, Maya found the last Pokémon that she was looking for: a floating grey Pokémon with red-irised yellow eyes and large red beads around its neck. Volt got the general impression of a half-finished doll with short, floating hair and a short skirt. _Creepy…_

"Misdreavus!" Maya exclaimed, hugging the Pokémon upon seeing it. "Oh, it's so good to have you back! I swear, I'll never let them get to you ever again."

"Misdre?" the Pokémon replied blearily as if it had been sleeping.

After Volt and Maya recalled their Pokémon, Maya then turned to the Rockets, glowering as she looked upon the helpless duo. "Now, as for _you_, it's time to send you packing. Medicham?"

Medicham then threw the Rockets back into the basket of their balloon.

"And take your stuff with you!" Volt said, chucking Poké Ball after Poké Ball back at the Rockets.

"Good idea!" said Maya. "Medicham, I think they'll want their robot back, too!"

Medicham then used Confusion on the Frisker and threw it towards the Rockets. However, the Frisker landed on the balloon's fuel tank, which ruptured at the impact. The Frisker emitted one last spark, which ignited the fuel and created an explosion that hurled the Rockets and pieces of the Frisker high into the air.

As the Rockets flew away, they wailed, "Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!"

**A/N:** The inspiration for Volt's clothes was a drawing by Superwinx8 on deviantart. A link to the picture is on my profile.


	14. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

_Kanto Route 15_

_1 Epombria, 20 Zenoheld / April 1, 20—_

"I have to admit, that was an excellent breakfast, Maya!" Volt exclaimed as the pair walked down Route 15. "I would never have thought that something so delicious could be cooked over a simple campfire."

"Well, you have to have _some_ basic survival skills when you're on a Pokémon journey," Maya replied. "Most of your time will be spent between cities, and unless you want to blow a lot of Pokédollars on food, you'd best learn what's edible in the field and how to make a meal out of what you find.

"But from the look on your face, it seemed like you were prepared to just eat like an Ursaring, weren't you? What kind of food did you put in that duffel bag? Granola bars?"

_Right on the money,_ Volt thought ruefully. _Even when we conquered New Vestroia, we didn't really have to … I believe the Earthling term is "rough it."_

"Right on the money, wasn't I?" Maya teased. "It's written all over your face!" She chuckled. "Seriously, though, where were you planning on going with that bag full of granola bars?"

But before Volt could answer, a mechanical voice started to call out:

"_RING RING RING! RING RING RING! PHONE CALL! PHONE CALL!_

"_RING RING RING! RING RING RING! PHONE CALL! PHONE CALL!"_

Maya stopped walking and reached for a device that was clipped to her belt. The device was less than five inches long and three and a half inches wide. The top half consisted of a rectangular screen in a hexagonal frame. The bottom half was a gray rectangle, which appeared to be its handle by the way that Maya was holding the device.

"It's my dad," Maya said. "You won't mind if I take this, right?"

"No, not at all," Volt said.

"Thanks." She smiled, then pressed a button on the device and brought it to her ear. In a chipper voice, she said, "Hey there, Daddy! How are you?"

Maya paused to hear the voice on the other end.

"Glad to hear it. Hey, do you remember that hunk Volt that I was talking about three days ago? Well, guess what? Now he's traveling with me! You see, yesterday these two guys from Team Rocket came out of nowhere and tried to steal my Pokémon, but then Volt showed up and …"

For the next few minutes, the pair kept walking down Route 15, Volt inattentive to Maya's telephone conversation. When Maya finally hung up and returned the device to its place, she said, "Sorry about that, Volt. My father can be a bit on the overprotective side; he calls me every day to see how I'm doing."

"Is that so? Well, it must be nice to be able to talk to him," Volt said. Bowing his head, he added, "I have no way of getting in contact with my family."

"Well, do you at least know your dad's phone number, by any chance?" Maya asked. "I might be willing to spring a few Pokédollars on a long-distance call."

"So that's a phone?" Volt asked.

"It's called a 'Pokégear,' actually," Maya explained. "It's standard equipment for Johto Trainers, and it has many useful features, including a phone. Since you had to ask about it, I'm guessing they don't have these in Unova?"

"No, they don't," Volt replied. "But wait a sec: I saw someone else with a device called a 'Pokégear', and it looked completely different than that."

"Let me guess: two screens, big as your hand, opens lengthwise?"

"That's right."

"I have an older model of Pokégear," she explained. "The newer models have all the privacy of a fishbowl; everybody knows who you're calling and what they're saying. Apparently that's OK with most Trainers, but I don't think my calls should be anyone's business but mine.

"Anyway, about your dad's phone number…?"

_Unless the Pokégear can call across space and time, I doubt that it'll help_, Volt thought. But what he actually said was, "I appreciate the offer, but unfortunately, I only had the number on my phone, which got stolen by the same thieves that took my Pokémon."

"Ouch. Sorry to hear that," Maya said sympathetically. "I hope that you're able to get home soon. Where _are _you going, anyway?"

"I'm heading towards Vermillion City," Volt answered. "Kaiser said that I'd find it if I followed this path."

"And I'm guessing that you don't have a Town Map on you?"

"No," Volt said, "but Kaiser did, and he showed me the route to take."

"And he told you to just keep going straight?" Maya asked.

"Uh…" Volt fumbled. "I remember being told about a very important intersection where I had to turn left instead of go straight."

"Wow, that's vague. Good thing that you found me, or you'd be totally lost!" Maya replied. "Fortunately for you, the Pokégear has a Town Map feature as well." She took her Pokégear from her belt again and pressed a few buttons. A Kanto Town Map soon appeared on the device's screen.

"OK now, pay attention. We're over here on Route 15." She pointed it out, and then traced the image with her finger. "This Route ends at the sea and turns north, becoming Route 14. And up here"—Maya indicated another turn—"the Route turns east again and becomes Route 13 until it reaches the coast. Then it turns north once again, and you're on Route 12."

She then pointed at an intersection of Route 12 and another Route. "This is the 'very important intersection' that you almost forgot about. If you just keep going straight, you'll miss this turn-off. At this intersection, you need to turn west onto Route 11. Otherwise, you'll arrive in Lavender Town, not Vermillion City."

"Thanks for your help, Maya," Volt said.

"No sweat," she replied, returning the Pokégear to its place. "So, you think that you'll find a way back to Unova from there?"

"That's the plan," Volt said.

"Well, then," Maya said. "If you don't mind, why don't we go together?"

"So you're also headed to Unova?" Volt asked.

"Cool idea, but no," Maya replied. "Vermillion City has way more to it than the seaport. I'm going to challenge the Vermillion Gym!"

"Is that some kind of physical competition?" Volt asked.

There was a brief, awkward pause. "That plane crash must have done quite a number on your memory," Maya said. "Maybe we should head back to Fuchsia City and get you a doctor."

_Oh, great, here we go again,_ Volt sighed internally. "Why?" he asked. "Gyms are places where people work out, right?"

Maya rolled her eyes. "True, but the only Gym in Vermilion is the kind for Pokémon, doofus."

_Apparently I should have asked Kaiser a few more questions during that Pokémon lesson a few days ago,_ Volt thought. "I highly doubt that medical attention is going to help my memory any," he said. _Especially since you can't _forget _something you never _knew_!_ "So could you please remind me how these things work?"

Maya sighed. "Alright. Each region has its own Pokémon League tournament. In order to qualify for the tournament, you have to challenge and defeat a certain number of Pokémon Gym Leaders. Defeating a Gym Leader earns you that Gym's Badge. Kanto requires eight Badges to enter its tournament, the Indigo League.

"Two days ago, I tried to challenge the Fuchsia City Gym for the second time. It's a Poison-type Gym, and I thought that having Medicham and a Chansey on my side would help me win. But it was no use; Janine completely wiped the floor with my Pokémon. Janine's the Fuchsia Gym Leader, by the way.

"So right now, I want to train my Pokémon some more and challenge the Vermillion City Gym, then head back to Fuchsia City to have a rematch against her."

"I see. But how would having Medicham and Chansey have been helpful?" Volt asked.

"Medicham is a Fighting- and Psychic-type Pokémon," Maya explained. "Psychic-type moves are super-effective on Poison-types, so in theory, a Medicham with a good Psychic move could easily defeat the Gym's trainers. Which mine did, until it got to Janine's blasted Crobat. Crobat are part Flying-type, which is strong against Fighting-types like Medicham. They're also ridiculously fast and can learn a _really_ annoying move called Confuse Ray.

"Medicham basically defeated itself in record time.

"Chansey, on the other hand, are known for their high special defense, as well as for being excellent healers, which is why I decided to bring her with me for my second challenge. It was a reasonable idea, except for the fact that she's a recent capture and therefore _not_ a good option against a Gym Leader. Especially not a Gym Leader with two Poison Jab-spamming Ariados.

"Argh, I hate those things! Next time I'm gonna teach Chansey Flamethrower or something..." She grumbled to herself in that vein for a moment or two.

"That, uh, sounds pretty tough," Volt said once she'd stopped. "Good luck with your rematch. They do say 'third time's a charm.'"

"Thanks," Maya said, heartened at the acknowledgment.

"By the way, how much longer is this Route?" Volt asked.

"Not very," she replied. "If Team Rocket hadn't gotten in the way yesterday, we'd nearly be done with it by now. Today, though, we're about—_whoa!_"

Maya was reacting to a battered-looking Pokémon in front of them, which was dragging itself across the route by its front paws. The Pokémon was so dirty and covered in cuts and bruises that it was almost unrecognizable. However, it appeared to be a feline Pokémon with long whiskers and a tail that curled up at the end. What appeared to be a big clump of mud was stuck to its forehead.

When the Pokémon reached the middle of the Route, it collapsed. Maya ran to it and knelt, while Volt pointed Dextra at the prone creature. The Pokédex showed a picture of a smiling feline Pokémon with mostly cream-colored fur; its hind paws and the end of its tail were light brown. Notably, some sort of gold coin was attached to its forehead, between its black ears.

"Meowth, the Scratch Cat Pokémon," Dextra announced. "It loves round and shiny things. It wanders the streets on a nightly basis to look for dropped loose change."

"You've been hurt pretty bad, huh, little guy?" Maya said to the Meowth.

The Meowth didn't so much as twitch in reply.

"Hey, Volt?" Maya said warily. "Meowth's unconscious and really needs our help. Do you have any Potions or something?"

Volt was at her side seconds before she'd finished her sentence. He started to rummage through his duffel bag, muttering, "I should have some bottles of water and some Potions in here."

Maya moved aside to let Volt have a closer look at Meowth. He took some bottles of water, a towel, and two Potions out of his bag. After wetting the towel, he began wiping the dirt and grime off of Meowth.

The Pokémon's breathing was ragged, and it flinched at every touch from Volt. But after a while, Volt managed to clean Meowth off somewhat, including getting the mud off the coin on its head.

_I wonder…_ He wrapped his fingers around the coin and tried to pry it off.

"Hey, don't do that!" Maya said when she saw what Volt was trying to do. "It's actually part of Meowth's head!"

"What?" Volt exclaimed.

"It's weird, but it's true," she said. "Meowth are born with those."

Volt shrugged, let go of the coin, and continued cleaning up Meowth.

When Volt had finished washing the mud and dried blood off of Meowth, the extent of its wounds was apparent. Meowth was covered in tooth marks, claw marks, and multiple bruises. Some of its whiskers were frayed. A formerly bleeding cut on Meowth's head had forced the Pokémon to keep an eye shut.

Volt sprayed some of the wounds with the Potions, but Maya interjected, "This looks like we'll need much more than a few Potions. I hate to say this, but we might have to head back to Fuchsia City."

"Then that's what we'll have to do," Volt said. "How far down the Route are we?"

"About halfway. If we hustle, we might arrive at the city by noon. Let's go!" Maya scooped Meowth up and cradled it in her arms, then ran off towards Fuchsia City, with Volt following close behind her.

* * *

Hidden in the trees lining the Route, a Pokémon was watching the two humans with interest.

Were those two humans the Meowth's masters? Impossible; they just now ran across it. So why were they caring so much for it?

Upon seeing the humans run off to the west, the curious Pokémon followed a parallel course, its paws making little sound as it wove through the trees.

* * *

After a few minutes of running, Maya felt Meowth fidgeting in her arms. She looked down to see that it was coming to. The Meowth moved its head very slowly in its attempt to get a bead on its surroundings, wincing with every few degrees that its head turned.

"Hey, Volt!" Maya called out. "It looks like Meowth woke up!" She looked back down at Meowth. "Don't worry, little one. We'll get you to Nurse Joy real soon."

Volt then glanced at Meowth, which seemed to be wincing in pain at every attempt to move its limbs. "How much farther to Fuchsia City?" he asked.

"Not much farther now, Volt!" Maya said. "The city gate is just coming into view now!"

"Just hold on there, Meowth," Volt encouraged. "Help will be on the way pretty soon."

A split second before he looked away, Volt thought that he had caught an odd expression on Meowth's face. _Was that Pokémon just smirking at me? _He shook his head. _I must be imagining things_; _it must have been just another grimace. Good thing that the Pokémon Center won't be much farther now. Hold on, Meowth._

* * *

Staying hidden behind the trees, the Pokémon continued observing the human pair. Those two were quite the contrast to the Pokémon's former master.

Unbidden tears came to the Pokémon's eyes as memories of its old master came rushing to the fore:

"_Congratulations, you're now part of the team. I'll tell you right now: I have no place for weaklings, so you'd better pull your weight."_

"_You're hurt? So what? Do I look like Nurse Joy to you? Go find yourself some Sitrus Berries or something!"_

"_How can you possibly lose against a Water-type? Aren't you supposed to be strong against those?"_

"_I've had enough of you. Feel free to be someone else's burden. As for me, it's good riddance."_

That Meowth was lucky. Had it belonged to the Pokémon's former master, he certainly would have left it to die. The master had no place for a Pokémon that couldn't win in a fight.

* * *

_Fuchsia City Pokémon Center_

After Maya and Volt barged into the Pokémon Center, Nurse Joy and her Chansey had hustled to give Meowth some needed attention.

She had told the two Trainers to wait in the reception area, but to the two, the anticipation made each minute seem interminable.

After what seemed like an eternity, a smiling Nurse Joy came into the reception area to meet the anxious Trainers.

"It was a good thing that you cleaned it up and brought it here so quickly," the nurse said. "Even though those cuts and bruises were not too deep, they could have easily gotten infected. We've closed up the wounds and put Meowth on some medicine, so it should be as good as new before long."

Maya sighed.

"That's a relief," Volt said.

"Would you like to see Meowth?" Nurse Joy asked.

"Certainly!" Maya said.

"I surely wouldn't mind," Volt added.

Nurse Joy brought the pair to a room adjacent to where Meowth was recuperating. Through the one-way window between the two rooms, the pair could see that the feline Pokémon certainly seemed to be in much better shape than when it was first brought in. Bandages covered much of the smaller wounds, and stitches closed up the bigger ones. From the rhythm of its breathing, Meowth seemed to be sound asleep.

"Do you have any idea what happened to Meowth?" Nurse Joy said.

"None at all, Nurse Joy," Maya answered. "We were on our way down Route 15 when we saw it dragging itself into the middle of the Route. We just couldn't leave it lying there, right?"

"I get it," the nurse said. "But if that's the case, then I suggest that you keep your eyes open the next time you walk down Route 15," Nurse Joy said. "Those bites and scratches look like they were inflicted by a Raticate."

"A Raticate? Wow, those things can be very nasty," Maya said.

"That Meowth must be quite the fighter, then: after all that, to still have the willpower to get itself where it could be noticed by humans," Volt added.

"That's odd, though: Raticate are not really native to Route 15," Nurse Joy mused. "Then again, a Raticate could have come there from Route 18…"

"Whatever happened, I'm glad to see that Meowth's on the mend," Maya said.

_RING RING RING! RING RING RING! PHONE CALL! PHONE CALL!_

_RING RING RING! RING RING RING! PHONE CALL! PHONE CALL!_

"Now? Really?" Maya snarked. Taking her Pokégear in hand, she said "Excuse me," and stepped out into the hallway.

"So, how long will it be until Meowth is fully healed?" Volt asked the nurse once Maya had left.

"We're going to keep an eye on it and give it some more doses of medicine every few hours. It should be able to walk by tonight, but the bigger wounds won't be fully healed until tomorrow night," the nurse answered. "At any rate, it should _not_ be doing any strenuous activity—especially battling—until after tomorrow night."

"Sorry about that," Maya said as she returned to the room. "It was my father again. It seems that my siblings Billy and Crystal have just arrived in town. They would have been two days too late to see me, but now that I'm back in town again, they'd like to meet up. Are you in a hurry to get back on the road, Volt?"

"I can wait until tomorrow," he answered. "Go meet your siblings; I'll meet up with you at the front door tomorrow morning."

"I'm so sorry to just spring this on you; I definitely owe you one. See you tomorrow!" Maya said, bounding out of the room.

* * *

That night, Meowth woke up on the hospital bed and smiled mischievously. Everything was going according to plan.

The masters' Raticate certainly knew how to make it hurt, though. Had it tried any harder, Meowth would have had to be hooked up to all sorts of machines. As it was, Meowth was simply placed in a bed so that it could rest.

As stealthily as only a Meowth could be, it got off the bed and slinked towards the reception area.

_Perfect; nobody around._

When it got to the reception area, it found a flight of stairs leading to the Trainers' rooms. Staying as silent as possible, Meowth found the room where the bulky one was sleeping.

_This is your target: Volt Luster, _Mistress had said, a picture of the target in her hand: a human with peach hair, mainly-white clothing, and a lot of muscles.

_Somewhere in his possession is a white-and-gold marble,_ her partner had said. _Your job is to get it for us._

What the masters wanted with a marble was beyond Meowth. Perhaps they were planning on giving it to Meowth as a reward for its faithful service? It certainly hoped so; it loved having new things to play with. The thought of having a shiny new plaything made Meowth smile as it crept into the room.

The target did not even so much as twitch when Meowth got onto his bed. Perfect; this human must be a heavy sleeper.

Meowth quickly patted Volt down, and soon discovered its objective: a round object in the breast pocket of the human's clothes.

But the human was not as light a sleeper as Meowth thought, as he started to fidget after Meowth patted him down.

The human's eyes started to twitch.

_Oh, no!_

Volt's eyes opened.

_Oh, Arceus!_

"Huh?" Volt said. "What's there?"

After turning on a nearby desk lamp, Volt saw Meowth seated on its haunches, an attentive look on its face. When it saw Volt looking at it, it smiled and meowed innocently.

"Hey there, Meowth," Volt said. He reached over to scratch the Pokémon behind the ears. "So you couldn't sleep?"

"Meowth," the Pokémon assented. _Nothing wrong here, human; get back to sleep!_

"So, you wanna share my bed?"

An affirmative "Meowth" was the reply. _Sucker._ Meowth cuddled close to Volt's breast.

"'Night, Meowth," Volt said as he turned off the light.

"Me-owth," it echoed back.

After what seemed like an eternity, the soft breathing associated with sleep resumed. _Finally!_ Without a moment's hesitation, Meowth used a claw to scratch through the fabric of the human's clothes, then took with its mouth the marble that rolled out. And making just as little sound as when it entered, Meowth crept out from under the covers and left the room.

* * *

Outside the doors of the Pokémon Center, the Pokémon that had been observing the two humans was fast asleep. Its sleep was interrupted, though, by what sounded like a Pokémon fidgeting with something.

Upon waking up, the Pokémon looked around for the source of the noise. There was a Meowth outside the Pokémon Center, covered in bandages and batting a white marble between its paws.

_That Meowth must have been the same one that the humans had found. What is it doing out here now?_

It soon became apparent, however, that the Meowth wasn't merely playing with the marble; it was batting it in a specific direction. The other Pokémon decided to keep a low profile and follow it.

After quite a while, the Meowth had led its plaything to the outskirts of the city, where three humans were waiting. Thanks to the moonlight, the Pokémon could see that the humans were two females and a male. The Meowth walked towards one of the females.

"Good work, Meowth. You've done well," said one of the females, a tall blonde.

"I knew that you'd be able to snatch 4-I-80 from that big lummox," said the male, who was slightly shorter than the female and had aquamarine hair.

"That's 'Boriates,' Butcher," the female said.

"C'mon, Cass; the name's 'Butch'!" said the male. "And whatever Tauros-head's name is, it's ours now."

The Pokémon hid behind a nearby tree. What exactly was so special about that marble?

"Well, we've got it; let's check out this robot for ourselves," said the other female, another blonde, this one with a hat on her head. "Cassidy?"

"Here goes nothing!" Tossing the marble, the first female—Cassidy—said, "Come on out, Boriates!"

The marble landed on the ground and rolled for a while. When it stopped, nothing happened.

"What?" Cassidy exclaimed. "Why is nothing happening?"

"Perhaps it needs some kind of password to open," Butch said. "He did seem to have some long rigamarole involved when he first sicced that thing on us."

"Let's see if I can remember what it was," Cassidy replied, picking up the marble. "I believe it went something like this:

"Bakumon, brawl!" Cassidy commanded, tossing the marble.

"Yeah, that was it!" Butch said while the marble soared through the air.

"Bakumon, stand!" Cassidy commanded when the marble landed.

The marble rolled for a bit upon landing, but did not open.

"Rise, Chaos Boriates!"

The marble did nothing.

"Are you _sure_ those were the passwords?" the other female said.

The Pokémon, watching the three humans, was perplexed. However, it was clear enough that they had expected some reaction from the marble. Perhaps it was some strange kind of Poké Ball? Whatever the marble's secret was, though, it was clear that it did not belong to those thieves. And for them to have used a fellow Pokémon to steal it was even worse.

Stepping out from behind the tree, it shouted out, "_Stop right there!_" Of course, since humans do not understand Pokémon speech, it merely sounded like "Shinx shinx shinx!" to them.

"What was that?" Cassidy said, turning towards the source of the noise.

"It looks like some kind of spray-painted Persian," Butch answered.

"I know it's not from around here, but even _you_ should know that's a Shinx, genius," the second female said.

"Perhaps it wants to play with the marble," Cassidy said. Flicking her hands in a "shoo" gesture, she said, "Go away. It's not your plaything!"

"_And it's not yours, either!_" Shinx replied.

"I don't care how much you want to play with it, the answer's no! Go away!" Cassidy said.

Shinx frowned at her and started glowing white. It zipped between Cassidy's legs with Quick Attack, snatched the marble in its mouth, and got past her again with another Quick Attack. It then turned and ran towards the Pokémon Center.

"Well, what are you two nimrods waiting for? An invitation?" the second female said. "_Don't let it get away!_"

Mere moments after it started fleeing, Shinx heard the footsteps of the humans; they were catching up quickly.

"You're not gonna get away from us!" Butch cried out. "Go, Houndoom!"

A Houndoom materialized in front of Shinx, causing Shinx to swerve into a nearby alleyway.

"After it, Houndoom!" the male said.

Fortunately for Shinx, its smaller size was to its advantage in the alleyway, as it was able to easily swerve around garbage cans and other obstacles. In contrast, the Houndoom lost ground with every obstacle.

Once it got past the alley, Shinx continued running towards the Pokémon Center, now with a greater lead against the thieving humans and their Pokémon.

* * *

In the Pokémon Center's bedroom, Volt woke up again, this time to answer nature's call. After he relieved himself, he rinsed his hands at the sink. When he took a look at the mirror over the sink, he noticed the hole in his pajamas.

He stuck a finger inside the pocket.

There was nothing inside.

When he took a closer look at the hole, he saw that it was too neat to have been made by accident. He then remembered that something had touched him before he woke up the first time.

_Dextra had said that Meowth love round and shiny things. Could Meowth have cut that hole?_

Volt returned to his bedside and turned on the lamp. Indeed, Meowth was nowhere to be found.

He rushed downstairs to check the room where Meowth was supposed to have been sleeping. When he got there, he saw that the bed was utterly empty.

_So that cat _did _steal Boriates. But how did it know that I had it in my pocket?_ Volt thought as he returned to the reception area. _It was in Maya's hands when we were bringing it back here to Fuchsia City, and I know that the gold on Boriates couldn't have shone through my clothes._

Before Volt could come up with any ideas, though, a creature cloaked in white light entered the Pokémon Center and stopped in front of Volt. When the white light dissipated, Volt saw another feline Pokémon, this one a little smaller than Meowth and faintly glowing. Its front half was covered in cyan fur, except for yellow bands around its front legs. Black fur covered most of the back half. It had an ovoid head with yellow eyes and big humanoid ears sticking out the sides. A yellow star-shaped protrusion was on the tip of its tail.

And in its mouth was a familiar white-and-gold marble.

"Boriates!" Volt cried out.

The Pokémon approached Volt and deposited Boriates at his feet. Volt quickly picked Boriates up.

"Shinx!" the Pokémon cried out.

"Huh?" Volt said.

"Shinx! Shinx shinx!" the Pokémon exclaimed, gesturing towards the Pokémon Center's door with a paw. Volt followed it as it loped back outside.

Outside the door, Volt saw three figures running towards the Pokémon Center. Two were humanoid: a male and a female, by their outlines. The third was a small Pokémon. When they got closer, exactly who they were became clear in the moonlight.

"Team Rocket!" Volt cried out.

"That's our name; don't wear it out," said Cassidy, stopping at the call.

"And double trouble's what we're about," Butch replied, striking a pose beside Cassidy.

"To infect the world with devastation!"

"To blight all peoples in every nation!"

"To denounce the goodness of truth and love!"

"To extend our wrath to the stars above!"

"Cassidy!"

"And Butch, of course!"

"We're Team Rocket, circling Earth all day and night!"

"Surrender to us now, or you'll surely lose the fight!"

"Me-owth!" said the Meowth.

"That's right!" Butch added.

"Hey, you said your lines already!" Cassidy scolded. "Did you really need to add that?"

"For some reason, the motto just didn't sound right without it," Butch said sheepishly.

"Bad Butch!" Cassidy said, slapping him across the face. "We are _nothing_ like those bumbling good-for-nothings; you got that?"

"Yes, Cass," Butch said dejectedly.

"So, I take it that _you _sent that Meowth to steal Boriates from me?" Volt asked.

"Why, yes!" Cassidy said.

"And did you have anything to do with those scratches it had this morning?" he asked.

"Our plan worked pretty well, huh?" Butch replied. "Twerpy trainers like you are so easy to manipulate. A Pokémon gets so much as a nosebleed, and you're all over the little guy."

Volt was dumbfounded for a moment or two. "You...you soulless fiends!" he exclaimed. "How could you possibly do something like that? Do you have any idea how hurt it was?!"

Shinx snarled. Somehow, these humans were even worse than its old master. He'd been cold and harsh, but nowhere near as ruthless as them.

"_You brutalized a Pokémon to within an inch of its life just to get _a marble?!" it shouted.

The humans, of course, did not understand what Shinx was saying, but from the disgusted look on its face, it was clear that Shinx agreed with Volt.

"Should we really care?" Cassidy said. "At the end of the day, Pokémon are nothing but tools, anyway. Anything's fair game as long as we get what we want."

"_I'm not a tool, and abusing a Pokémon's _never _fair game!" _Shinx protested.

"Yeah, 'shinx-shinx' to you, too, furball," Butch said.

"Meowth, get that marble back!" Cassidy commanded.

"I saved your life, Meowth! Do you really want to live as Team Rocket's disposable tool?" Volt protested.

Ignoring Volt's argument, Meowth charged.

Shinx stepped into the Meowth's path and loosed a bolt of blue lightning towards the Scratch Cat Pokémon. When the Thunder Wave hit, Meowth crumpled up in a heap on the ground.

"Nice timing!" Volt said. "Shinx, could you keep them busy for a few seconds?"

Shinx pawed the ground and nodded. "Shinx!"

"Good!" Volt said, rushing back inside the Pokémon Center.

"Where do you think _you're _going?" Butch yelled, lunging towards Volt.

The Rocket agents couldn't do anything else, however, as Shinx blinded them with Flash. Shinx then released two more Thunder Waves, one for each Rocket.

Moments later, the still-weakened Rockets saw Volt exit the Pokémon Center. His belt, Poké Balls attached, was over his pajamas.

As Butch slowly returned to his feet, however, Volt was not waiting to fight him. Instead, Volt and the Shinx were running off to the north.

"First the Shinx, now you?" Cassidy whined as the strength slowly returned to her body as well. "Enough with the running already! We're thieves, not athletes!"

"Well, let's see how well they run with an incurable burn!" Butch replied. Lobbing a Poké Ball, he said, "Houndoom, Flamethrower!"

Houndoom appeared in front of Volt and loosed a red-hot Flamethrower. Volt dodged to the left; Shinx, to the right. Then Shinx then loosed a Thunder Wave at the dog Pokémon, hindering its movement.

* * *

After about a half-hour of running, Volt and Shinx arrived at the outskirts of the city. Volt stopped running and turned to face the Rockets. Houndoom was not accompanying them; Butch had returned it to its Poké Ball.

Huffing and puffing from the run, Butch said, "What … was with … the midnight … jog?"

"I just wanted to get away from the city," Volt said as he activated the Custom Battle Ability. "You should just give up now, Team Rocket."

"You must think that we're pretty weak," Cassidy said.

"But without your girlfriend to protect you, you're outmatched," Butch continued. "Aggron, come on out!"

"Pokémon, brawl!" Volt said, tossing his Safari Ball. When the Poké Ball landed, Volt commanded, "Rise, Subterra Clayf!"

In the space between the two Trainers, Aggron and Rhyhorn faced off in the moonlight, each one awaiting its Trainer's order.

"Clayf, Rock Tomb!" Volt ordered.

The Rhyhorn reared up onto its hind legs, and its front paws glowed white. With all its strength, it stomped onto the ground. A bunch of rocks rose to surround Aggron and closed in on it.

"That's nothing to Aggron!" Butch said. "Aggron, Mega Punch!"

Shards of rock flew past Volt as Aggron toppled the Rock Tomb with a mighty punch. The glow around its fist started to wane as Aggron stepped out from the formerly-enclosing Rock Tomb.

"Impossible!" Volt exclaimed. "Magnitude, Clayf!"

Clayf reared onto its hind legs again, then slammed its front legs onto the ground with as much force as it could muster. The immediate area started to crack and buckle, and the wave of force traveled towards Aggron. The Iron Armor Pokémon swayed as the ground under it kept shifting, but once the shaking dissipated, it was still standing.

"Is that weak knockoff all you've got?" Butch taunted. "Aggron, let's show them what a _real_ earth-shaking move looks like! Earthquake!"

At its Trainer's command, the Pokémon jumped into the air. A giant BANG could be heard when it landed, and the ground shook as if an actual earthquake had gone off. Clayf tried to keep its balance in the shifting earth, but it eventually succumbed to the super-effective attack, landing on its belly.

"Aggron, finish it off with Water Pulse!" Butch commanded.

A glowing blue energy ball formed between Aggron's horns. Aggron then launched the ball onto the ground, whereupon a wave of water emerged, washed over Clayf, and slammed it onto a nearby tree. When the wave dissipated, the Rhyhorn collapsed onto the ground, legs splayed in all directions.

"And _that's_ what real power looks like!" Butch said. "Now, be reasonable, Bolt—"

"The name's 'Volt,'" Volt interrupted.

"Whatever," Butch said. "Don't you think that it's time you surrender? You're clearly outmuscled, outnumbered, and outmatched."

"I suggest that you do your math again," Volt said.

"Why should I? Unless you got another Pokémon, all you have left is that Charmander." At Volt's dumbfounded expression, Butch explained, "Don't think that we weren't paying attention when your girlfriend's Medicham had us upside-down yesterday!

"Besides, even with type advantage, Charmander's nothing against Aggron."

"One, she's not my girlfriend," Volt replied, Boriates' marble now in hand. "Two, who said anything about using a Pokémon?"  
"Well, don't think that you're going to be able to sic that robot on us again!" Cassidy said. Tossing a Poké Ball, she commanded, "Meowth, use Quick Attack on Volt!"

"Don't do it, Meowth!" Volt urged as the Pokémon came out of the Poké Ball. "Remember your stitches!"

Unfortunately for Meowth, it once again paid no heed to Volt. A white light shone around Meowth as it prepared to do its Quick Attack, but a few steps in, a searing pain from its stitched-up wounds stopped it in its tracks.

"I warned you," Volt said. He then lobbed Boriates' marble over the Rockets' heads. "Bakugan, brawl!"

Boriates landed a good distance behind the Rockets. Volt commanded, "Bakugan, stand!"

The Rockets turned to see what was going on with the marble. They stood amazed as it opened up into a miniature humanoid figure with prominent golden horns.

"Rise, Haos Boriates!"

The up-close sight of Boriates' transformation from inch-high humanoid to sixty-foot-tall robot rendered the Rockets utterly speechless. The robot was so tall, they could not see its head from their position at its feet.

"Craning your necks like that can't possibly be good for you," Volt commented. He then said loudly to the Bakugan, "Boriates, let them have a good look at your face."

The Bakugan's movement made the earth rumble. Aggron, Meowth, and the Rockets attempted to run away, but Boriates' massive hand soon grabbed them and brought them up to its eye level.

"H-h-hey there, big guy," Cassidy said numbly. "N-nice weather we're having, huh?"

"N-now d-d-don't do anything hasty!" Butch pleaded.

"Oh, we won't—not _yet_, anyway," Volt shouted up at the Rockets. "Now listen up. You're going to return Meowth to its Poké Ball, and then hand it over to me."

"And why are we going to do that?" Cassidy retorted. "_We're_ the thieves here, Lackluster!"

"Hmm...perhaps Boriates is holding on to you too tightly," Volt mused. "Boriates, would you please give them some breathing room?"

Its gears ground audibly as it opened its fist. Almost immediately, Cassidy screamed, "Stop! Stop!"

"Boriates, stop," Volt commanded.

The robot's movement stopped.

"All right, all right!" Cassidy said. "Meowth, return!" Cassidy then tossed Meowth's Poké Ball down towards Volt, who quickly caught it.

"Good. I'll make sure that it has a good home, far from _you_," Volt said.

"So you'll let us down now, right?" Butch pleaded.

"No," Volt said flatly.

"What?!" the two Rockets shouted.

"You're 'Team Rocket,' right? Then I say it's time for launch. Boriates?"

Boriates wound up like a baseball player preparing to pitch, then threw Aggron and the Rockets high into the air.

"Argh! Stupid Shinx and stupid giant robots ruining our plans!" Cassidy groused as she sailed southwards.

"'Baku_gan_, brawl; Baku_gan_, stand; rise, _Haos _Bore…eye…yay…tees,'" Butch muttered to himself.

"What are you doing?" Cassidy said.

"Practicing for the next time we get that thing," he answered. "It looks like my password theory was right after all."

"You know what else it looks like?" asked Cassidy wryly.

"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" the pair wailed.

Aggron added its cry to the humans' wailing.

* * *

_Fuchsia City Pokémon Center_

_2 Epombria, 20 Zenoheld / April 2, 20—_

"Morning, Volt!" Maya said as she arrived at the Pokémon Center's front door.

"Good morning, Maya," Volt replied. "How were your siblings?"

"Oh, Billy and Crystal were fine. They just haven't seen me in a long time, so we spent most of the day catching up with each other. We even spent some time on the Route 19 beach. How about you?"

"Well, I figured out what happened to Meowth," Volt answered. "It was abused by Team Rocket as part of a plan to get at Boriates."

"That's horrible!" Maya said.

"Fortunately, I was able to rescue it," Volt continued. "Nurse Joy says she'll start training it to be something other than a thief so that it can find a new home."

"Good for Meowth," Maya replied. "But now you're making me curious. This must be, like, the _fourth _time that I've heard the name 'Boriates.' But I don't even have a face to associate to it! So tell me, what _is_ it? If Team Rocket's going to keep pestering my traveling partner about this 'Boriates' thing, I believe that I have the right to know what it is!"

"It's part of a secret project that my father worked on," Volt said. "Besides, it can be very dangerous, and it _certainly_ cannot be used in a big city like this. But with my luck, perhaps you will see it in action, whether I like it or not," Volt answered.

"Oh, all right," Maya said with a pout.

"Well, how about this to make up for it? We've got a new addition to the team." Volt then took a Poké Ball from his belt. "Rise, Haos Lars Lion!"

Shinx emerged from the Poké Ball.

"What kind of Pokémon is that?" Maya asked. "It doesn't look like anything native to Kanto."

"Let's see what Dextra has to say," Volt answered.

"'Dextra'? Is that a Pokédex?" Maya asked as Volt brought Dextra out of a pocket.

"Yes, it is. Got it from one of Professor Oak's assistants," Volt said.

"Awesome!" Maya exclaimed.

"Shinx, the Flash Pokémon," Dextra said. "Shinx is native to southwestern Sinnoh. The extension and contraction of its muscles generates electricity. Its fur glows when it's in trouble."

"Wow, Sinnoh! That's a different region altogether, Volt, far to the north of Kanto," Maya said. "But then how'd it get all the way down here? Pokémon don't just wander out of their home regions like that."

"However it got here, I couldn't have fought off Team Rocket without it," Volt said, petting Lars Lion's head. "And now it will be joining us on our journey.

"But first, I need a favor from you."

"What is it?" Maya asked.

"Team Rocket's Pokémon are much stronger than mine," Volt conceded. "If I'm going to meet them again, I have to be able to go toe-to-toe against them in battle." _I can't keep relying on Boriates all the time_, Volt added internally. "Could you help me train?"

"No problem," Maya said. "But in order for me to do that, I need to know what levels your Pokémon are at."

_It's a good thing that I asked Nurse Joy about "levels" after that debacle with Tracey three days ago,_ Volt thought.

"Apollonir—my Charmander," Volt added as he noted Maya's confused face, "is level 10, and Clayf, my Rhyhorn, is level 20. I have no idea about Lars Lion, since I just caught it yesterday," Volt replied.

"Good enough," Maya replied. "Its level is most likely in the twenties, since that would be on par with the Pokémon around here. Of course, we can ask Nurse Joy to evaluate it when she returns to the desk.

"Either way, let's get breakfast, then we'll hit the road. We'll train on Route 15."

**A/N:** Regarding the different Pokégears: Maya's Pokégear is the Gen II version. Tracey's Pokégear, however, is the Gen IV version seen in HeartGold and SoulSilver.

The next few chapters will take a slight detour from the main story, as we focus on events on Vestal after Volt's disappearance.


	15. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

**A/N:** After _New Vestroia_, the _Bakugan _series has not focused much on what happened on Planet Vestal after King Zenoheld's death. Spectra and Mira do show up again later in the series, but aside from some cutscenes in the end of the Japanese version of _New Vestroia_ (which will _not _be considered canon for this fic), we have no idea at all of what happened on Planet Vestal.

Though _Lost Luster_ will mainly focus on Volt and his travels through Kanto, some chapters, like this one, will take place on Planet Vestal. However, what happens on Vestal will ultimately intersect with Volt's story.

Any names you don't recognize are most likely my own invention.

Now without further ado, enjoy the chapter!

_The _Vestal Destroyer

_29 Ananeosis, 20 Zenoheld_

Keith Clay sometimes could not believe just how dramatically his life had changed. In the space of a year, he'd gone from leading the Vexos under the name "Spectra Phantom" to returning home as the newest member of the Bakugan Battle Brawlers Resistance.

After the Resistance's latest battle, he'd wanted to return to Vestal as soon as possible, but the remaining members had convinced him to slowly cruise back to Vestal instead so that they could take a well-deserved rest. Thus Keith was on the bridge, listening to the hum of the engines as they led the ship towards its destination.

Standing by Keith's side was his best friend, Gus Grav, who, at five-foot-six, was only two inches shorter than Keith if one did not include Keith's spiky hair. Gus had long aquamarine hair that went down to his shoulders, and wore an orange jacket over a dark gray shirt, dark gray pants with a white flame pattern on the sides, and brown boots.

Like Keith, Gus was also formerly of the Vexos. He was Keith's best friend since childhood, and could always be counted on to be right at Keith's side, so much so that the other Vexos would often call him Spectra's lapdog. It didn't help that Gus had been referring to Keith as "Master" since an incident a few years ago.

"Master Spectra?" Gus asked.

"Please, just call me 'Keith'," the other man replied. "Spectra doesn't exist anymore."

"My apologies. Master Keith, you seem lost in thought."

"Well, Gus, I _feel _lost. When I was a Vexos, I thought that I had everything figured out. It seemed so easy: Create the ultimate Bakugan, use it to take down Hydron and Zenoheld, and become king of Vestal. But now that all this with the Alternative has happened, I have absolutely no idea where we should go from here. The Vexos are as good as disbanded, and who knows what's waiting for us on Vestal?"

Gus was about to respond when a juvenile voice broke the silence:

"How much longer until we get to Vestal, Keith? I'm just so stoked to tell all my siblings just how hard we kicked Zenoheld's butt!"

Keith turned around towards the source of the voice: Baron Leltoy, the Haos brawler of the Bakugan Brawler Resistance.

Though Baron was only twelve years old, one would not guess it by looking at him: standing at five-foot-six and sporting a muscular frame, the pink-haired Vestal could easily pass as being the same age as nineteen-year-old Keith.

Baron was in his usual outfit: a white vest over a brown sleeveless shirt, white pants, and cyan boots.

"We'll get there when we get there," Keith replied. "We could've been there already if you all hadn't insisted on taking our time so that you could sleep."

"And whose fault was that, huh?" Baron retorted. "You're lucky that it wasn't yet bedtime where Alice lives, or else we wouldn't have been able to show up yesterday and save your sorry behind!"

"Well, in my opinion, Master Spectra—er, Master _Keith_—had excellent timing," Gus cut in. "Had he waited for the next day, we might not even be having this conversation at this point."

During the previous day, the Resistance had planned to attack the Vestal Motherpalace after getting a good night's sleep. However, Keith, eager to face off against King Zenoheld, decided to go ahead by himself that night aboard the _Vestal Destroyer_, accompanied only by his Guardian Bakugan, Pyrus Helios MK2. It took the intervention of the human scientist Michael Gehabich and his granddaughter Alice to transport the remaining Resistance members to a planetoid near where the Motherpalace had been located.

Keith had only barely managed to hold off Zenoheld's Bakugan, Pyrus Assail Farbros, during his late-night confrontation with the king, and that only because Gus had escaped the Motherpalace's dungeons and aided in the brawl. But during the brawl, the two teenage Vestals had witnessed the activation of the Alternative Weapon System, a massive battleship with enough power to destroy entire planets.

"As much as I hate to admit it, Gus, you and the little squirt both have a point," said Keith. "The _Destroyer_'s powerful, but we all know that the Alternative could have blown it up with one shot. If the Brawlers hadn't shown up when they did…"

"Exactly, Keith! How could you have been so _stupid_? So _selfish_?" Mira Clay, Keith's sister and leader of the Bakugan Brawlers Resistance, had just entered the room. Mira stood at five-foot-four, and had orange hair and blue eyes. She wore a silver coat, which reached barely halfway down her back, over a close-fitting burgundy jumpsuit and white boots.

Accompanying Mira was Ace Grit, the remaining member of the Resistance. Ace stood at five-foot-five and had light-blue hair. He wore a long-sleeved purple shirt, pants that were a deeper shade of purple than his shirt, and black boots.

"We planned on confronting Zenoheld together, and you just rush into battle alone like that?" Mira exclaimed. "Do you have _any idea_ how scared I was? What if you _had _ended up blown to pieces? I could have lost both my father _and_ my brother in that battle!" Professor Clay, the inventor of the Mechanical Bakugan, and father of both Keith and Mira, had been aboard the Alternative Weapon System when it exploded at the end of the battle.

Keith went over to Mira. He looked down at his sister, whose eyes were starting to well up with tears, and wrapped an arm around her. "There, there, now, Mira. It's all right. It's all over now."

"Don't lie to us, Keith," Ace said. "You and I both know that even though the battle against Zenoheld is over, things are far from all right. I don't know what you may have been expecting, but I'd take brawling over politics any day."

"Politics?" Baron asked, a blank expression on his face.

"Well, yeah," Ace replied. "For one thing, who knows what the government looks like now? When we last left Vestal, Regent Xenia was barely holding on to power. On top of that, I highly doubt that having the entire Bakugan Battle Brawlers Resistance, and two former Vexos, coming back home on the Vexos flagship would do anyone any favors.

"In other words, we're a political firestorm waiting to happen."

At that moment, warning sirens blared throughout the _Destroyer_. Wormholes opened up kilometers ahead, and two white spaceships one and a half times the _Destroyer_'s length emerged from them. The ships' designs were similar to that of the _Destroyer_, but the size and color difference indicated that they weren't from the same fleet. Each ship's prow prominently displayed the Royal Family's coat of arms: a flying gold eagle clutching the planet Vestal in its talons, all over a starscape.

A console beeped, signaling a transmission. When Keith accepted the call, a holographic viewscreen appeared in front of the bridge's windshield. On screen was a male Vestal in his late teens, with spiky amber hair and auburn eyes. He was seated in the captain's chair of one of the massive battleships.

"Count Demophilus," Keith said. "To what do I owe the honor?"

"_I_ should be asking _you_ that question, Spectra," Demophilus spat. "What do you think you're doing here, sauntering so casually into Vestal space? You could have at least transported directly there through a wormhole—though I would have had you shot down at the first sign of aggression anyway. Perhaps I should thank you for saving me the trouble of starting a fight for the entire planet to see.

"And by the way, Spectra, it's '_Margrave _Demophilus' now."

"I'm sorry to hear that, milord," Keith answered. "From what I know, Margrave Medus was a good man."

Demophilus bowed his head briefly. "He was. Not that _you'd_ know anything about it, Vexos."

Immediately, the non-Vexos occupants of the _Vestal Destroyer_ began dematerializing, to everyone's great surprise.

"What's going on here?" Gus cried out.

"That's 'what's going on here, _milord_' to you, lapdog," Demophilus retorted. "And isn't it obvious? I'm removing your hostages." As the Resistance members finished dematerializing, Demophilus loudly cleared his throat and continued in an officious tone: "Keith Clay, a.k.a. Spectra Phantom, in the name of Her Highness Princess Regent Xenia, you are under arrest for treason against the Crown and for the conversion of the HMS _Vestal Destroyer_.

"Gus Grav, you are under arrest for being an accomplice to those same crimes.

"Now shut down your engines and submit to our escort, or else I will be happily obliged to have these ships open fire upon you."

Another viewscreen opened beside the one showing Margrave Demophilus, this one showing Mira struggling with a black-haired female Vestal. "Your Highness, wait!" Mira cried.

"Explain this outburst!" Demophilus ordered.

From off-screen, a male voice ordered, "Step aside, both of you!" The scuffling Vestals broke apart and made way for a man in his late forties with platinum-colored hair.

"My apologies, milord," the man said. "After the Resistance transported onto the ship, Ms. Clay somehow slipped free of the guards and reached the communications console."

"Actually, it is I who should be apologizing to Ms. Clay for that sudden transport. Please, let her have the conn, Captain," Demophilus replied.

"Yes, milord," the captain said.

As the captain let Mira take her place in front of the communications console, Demophilus ordered to one of his officers, "Lock on to the _Destroyer_. If Spectra makes even one false move, obliterate that ship."

"Yes, milord," the officer replied.

"Ms. Clay, please pardon the sudden change of atmosphere; I wanted to remove you from the clutches of those Vexos right away," said Demophilus, returning his attention to her. "You're perfectly safe now. You're aboard the _Phylax_, one of the flagships of the Royal Family. I am on her sister ship, the _Phalanx_."

"Your Highness—"

"I'm flattered, but that won't get you anywhere," Demophilus interrupted. "Unless and until both King Zenoheld and Prince Hydron are dead (may the Goddess speed that day!), my proper address is still 'milord.'"

"But that's exactly it, Your Highness," Mira replied. "King Zenoheld and Prince Hydron _are_ dead."

Demophilus' jaw dropped noticeably.

"Goddess rest both their souls," the captain murmured behind them. Other officers also bowed their heads respectfully.

Before long, though, Demophilus regained his composure. "You must not be the tactical genius whom I've heard about, Spectra. Did you actually think you could saunter back here after assassinating King Zenoheld—Resistance hostages in tow, no less—and claim the throne of Vestal for yourself amidst the confusion from his departure? Of the many reasons for someone like you to come back to Vestal, I must admit this is one of the more ambitious ones. Not to mention the most idiotic."

"Pardon my forwardness, Your Highness, but you completely misunderstand the situation," Mira interjected.

"Is that so?" Demophilus answered. "Then please, enlighten me."

"Keith and Gus no longer pose any threat to Vestal, Your Highness," she explained. "In fact, they are the newest members of the Bakugan Battle Brawlers Resistance. _That_ is why we were on the _Vestal Destroyer_, not because Keith took us all hostage."

"I would be greatly relieved, albeit perplexed, if that proves to be the case," Demophilus said. "Unfortunately, I cannot just take your word for it. How do I know you haven't somehow been brainwashed or otherwise coerced into saying that? If you and your comrades would please follow Captain Thureos' officers to the medical bay, I'd greatly appreciate it. I want to make sure that you have not been tampered with at all before I bring you to see the regent."

"Yes, milord," Mira replied.

"Captain Thureos, see that they make it to the medbay without incident," Demophilus ordered.

The platinum-haired man returned to the screen. "Yes, milord," the man assented. "_Phylax_ out." The viewscreen then shut off.

"And that leaves us with you, Spectra," Demophilus said. "Since your ship is still intact, it seems that you're not a complete idiot. That's good. Now that I have your hostages under my care, you'd best pray to Vesta that I find no signs of injury on them. And if, let's say, you have some kind of kill switch installed in them, I'd highly suggest that you reconsider even threatening to trip it: if they die, I open fire."

"But Your Highness, my sister is telling the truth: the Resistance members are my comrades, not my hostages," Keith replied. "And besides, if I wanted to pose a threat to Vestal, I would have come in by wormhole, weapons at the ready, as you yourself just said not too long ago. Yet here I am, 'sauntering in' as you put it, weapons offline: an easy target for the royal fleet."

"If your intentions are indeed honorable, which I sincerely doubt, that will be made clear in due time," Demophilus answered. "Until then, you can start by heeding my previous order: Power down your engines and submit to our escort. You are still under arrest."

"Roger that, _Phalanx_," Keith groused. He began inputting the shutdown code. "Powering down engines … now." With the last keystroke, a series of low hums could be heard throughout the ship as the engines shut down.

"Wise choice, _Destroyer_," said Demophilus. "_Phalanx_ out."

"This is an outrage, Master Spectra!" Gus exclaimed, forgetting in his anger to refer to his friend as "Keith." "We just saved Vestal from utter destruction, and _this_ is the thanks we get?"

"Calm down, Gus," said Keith. "Think about it from their point of view. Remember, we only _just_ beat King Zenoheld, so of course they have no idea what we've done yet. And the last they heard of us, we were defectors from the Vexos and desirous of the crown.

"And besides, if Mira's really going to be a guest of the regent, then we might just have a great opportunity waiting for us. The only thing I don't understand is how my sister ended up getting the regent's attention."

The two royal battleships each took a position alongside the _Destroyer_ and deployed tractor beams to lock it in place. Afterwards, they carried the ship towards planet Vestal.

Some time later, as the convoy approached Vestal, the _Phalanx _hailed the _Destroyer_ again.

"_Vestal Destroyer_, you may now re-engage your engines and prepare to land," Demophilus said. "Captain Xiphos is having your appointed flight path and landing coordinates transmitted to you as we speak. Deviate from it, and we _will_ open fire.

"But I _do_ have some good news for you. Our medical staff has ascertained that the Resistance is indeed free of any chemical or mechanical tampering.

"I'm quite disappointed, actually. I would have thought that someone like you, who turned his own Bakugan into a cyborg, would have had no qualms against installing some kind of failsafe in his hostages' bodies."

Keith decided not to honor Demophilus' taunts with a response. "Coordinates received, _Phalanx._ Readying engines. _Destroyer_ out."

* * *

The landing zone was a fairly secluded spot, usually far from the hustle and bustle of the Vestal capital. In the west, the summer palace of Princess Xenia—now Princess Regent Xenia—dominated the otherwise tranquil skyline. However, word had spread that the infamous _Vestal Destroyer_ had been spotted approaching Vestal—and escorted by no less than the royal flagships _Phalanx _and _Phylax_. Some of the more resourceful denizens of planet Vestal managed to calculate the _Destroyer_'s trajectory, and before long, a crowd of Vestals had congregated by the landing pad, so much so that additional law enforcement officers had to be called in to keep the crowds at bay.

When the three ships landed and the _Destroyer_'s loading ramp lowered, a group of royal guards entered the ship. Minutes later, a pair of them left, a handcuffed Keith in between them.

After the transmission from the _Phalanx_, Keith had changed back into the garb of Spectra Phantom, as the populace did not know his true identity. Keith was now wearing a red domino mask over his eyes, had his long blond hair cover the left eye, and wore a long red jacket that went down to his shoes. Black fur made up the collar of the jacket, and more black fur also ringed the waist. Underneath the jacket, he wore a brown dress shirt, a gold belt, brown pants, and brown boots.

Behind the trio, a handcuffed Gus followed, himself also flanked by two guards.

When the crowd caught sight of Spectra and Gus, all pandemonium broke loose. The officers had their hands full trying to keep back the crowd, which was ever threatening to break over them like a wave.

Despite the distance, Keith could hear snatches of dialogue:

"Vexos scum! I hope they throw the book at you!"

"You're so cool, Spectra! I've watched all your brawls!"

"Did you run out of Bakugan to brainwash? You never should have shown your face back on Vestal!"

A group of girls were heard cheering: "SPECTRA! SPECTRA! SPECTRA! SPECTRA!"

A reporter had somehow made her way to the front of the crowd. Microphone pointed at Gus, she cried out, "Mr. Grav! Mr. Grav! _Planetary Enquirer._ People want to know: What do you have to say about rumors of a relationship between you and Mr. Phantom?"

An old man yelled, "Why didn't you stay with your 'king', Vexos?"

A young man retorted, "Show some respect! Spectra's worth more than ten of you!"

"You're so HOT, Gus!" cried a woman in the crowd.

"Marry me once you get out of the dungeons?" exclaimed another.

A minute after Keith, Gus, and their entourage entered a hovercar, which quickly sped away, Mira, Baron, and Ace exited the _Phylax_ and were soon escorted by the remaining royal guards. The crowd roared all the more at the sight of the famous Bakugan Brawlers Resistance, though the noise was not exclusively of acclaim.

"Hey, guards! Are you blind? _Those_ are the criminals!"

"Three cheers for the heroes of Vestroia!"

"Welcome home!"

"Ace, I saw the vid of your brawl in Alpha City. You're so awesome!"

"Marry me, Baron!"

"TRAITORS! REBELS!"

"Shut up, you idiot! All hail Queen Xenia!"

"Those rebels are the reason that we have a mere _regent _in power! Long live the King!"

"Both of you shut up! We can't trust Zenoheld, we can't trust his sister, and we definitely can't trust any of these self-proclaimed nobles!"

"Ms. Clay! Ms. Clay! _Planetary Enquirer._ What do you have to say about rumors that Spectra Phantom is actually a long-lost distant relative of yours?"

Amidst the noise, the Resistance continued on their way to the hovercar that would escort them to Regent Xenia's nearby palace.

* * *

Once Mira, Baron, and Ace arrived at the palace, the guards escorted them to Xenia's audience chamber. Keith and Gus had been taken elsewhere.

The entrance to Xenia's audience chamber was a massive set of double doors, the royal coat of arms emblazoned across the pair. The audience chamber itself was a marvel. It was a massive room with stained-glass windows and marble floors that bore the royal coat of arms. The walls led up to a retractable arched ceiling, which was currently open to allow for a view of the sky. Two lines of ornately-decorated pillars going lengthwise down the room divided it into three sections, the middle section considerably wider than the other two. The doors, which had a guard at each side of them, were in the middle of one of the long sides of the room. A guard stood at each corner of the room, and at the end of the room that was to the left as one entered the door was a velvet-lined dais, where the throne stood.

With her fair skin and large blue eyes, Princess Regent Xenia Alethina Hestia-Epipuron looked younger than her age of forty-three. Cyan hair a few shades darker than her dress flowed halfway down her back, with the exception of two rope braids around the sides of her head. The dress itself had flecks of silver that sparkled in direct light, mimicking the silver tiara.

Her son, Margrave Demophilus Alexandros Epipuron, stood to her right, wearing a spotless blue-and-silver dress uniform and a steel-gray fur cape. Rather than mimic his mother's serene smile, he had schooled his features into an impassive mask.

"Welcome, Ms. Clay," Xenia said. "I have heard many things about the exploits of you and the members of your Bakugan Brawlers Resistance. It seems that you and your friends have caused my brother and nephew quite some consternation."

"Your Majesty?" Mira replied, unsure of how to answer.

"No need to be afraid, Ms. Clay. I, too, was appalled at the things that my brother had done to the inhabitants of New Vestroia. Our people need space to expand, true, but despite what some in the nobility still think, I agree with you that enslaving an entire species was not the way to gain that space."

"I am pleased to hear that, Your Majesty."

"My son gave me some very puzzling news. I hear that you actually arrived aboard the _Vestal Destroyer_ alongside Spectra Phantom and Gus Grav. How did this happen? Did the Vexos harm you in any way?"

"No, Your Majesty. As I said to Margrave Demophilus, Keith and Gus are now members of the Resistance. They had long abandoned the Vexos since even before King Zenoheld fled the planet, though they have not joined the Resistance until recently."

"Mr. Leltoy," Xenia said, "is Ms. Clay telling the truth? Know that you are safely under my protection; the Vexos cannot harm you here."

"She's not lying, Your Majesty," Baron answered. "Keith's one of us now, and you know that wherever Keith goes, Gus follows."

"And what of the other Vexos?" Xenia asked.

"We don't know for sure," Mira replied.

Xenia rose an eyebrow, but did not push the matter. Instead she said, "So, I take it that the intelligence you had received as to my brother's ambitions has borne fruit. What has happened since you last left Vestal?"

Mira gasped. "How did you know about our intelligence?"

Xenia chuckled. "It was I who gave you that intelligence on King Zenoheld's intentions. You may have thought that it was just a bunch of rumors, but I deliberately let that information slip."

"What?!"

"Unfortunately, I know my brother. Though he is skilled at feigning benevolence when needs be, he is a very proud man. He does not like to retreat, and whenever he is made to, he always returns with a vengeance."

"You understate things, mother!" Demophilus interjected. "Even you could not have avoided hearing the increasingly angry transmissions from the Motherpalace. He was even threatening to destroy the planet in his latest ones! What kind of king would threaten to annihilate his own people?"

Xenia sighed. "That is true. On that topic, did Zenoheld ever have the capability to make good on such a threat, Ms. Clay?"

"Unfortunately, he did," Mira answered. "But please allow me to start from the beginning, Your Majesty."

"Proceed."

"After King Zenoheld fled from Vestal, we learned that he was concocting a new plan to take over New Vestroia: the Bakugan Termination System. It was a machine that would have been able to kill every Bakugan within a six-thousand-kilometer radius. It was actually with the help of Spectra, as well as a group of Earthlings called the Bakugan Battle Brawlers, that we managed to destroy the BT System. Afterwards, Spectra and Gus joined the Resistance.

"But after we destroyed the BT System, King Zenoheld came up with something even more devastating: the Alternative Weapon System."

"Alternative Weapon System?" Demophilus asked.

"Yes, Your Highness," she confirmed. "A massive battleship capable of destroying the entire planet Vestal from orbit. Just hours ago, we confronted this superweapon in a massive battle.

"However, the battle was not without its casualties. We don't know why, but Prince Hydron hindered King Zenoheld from fleeing the Alternative as it was readying to self-destruct." Mira bowed her head. "Thus it is my unfortunate duty to report that both King Zenoheld and Prince Hydron are now dead."

**A/N:** You may have noticed that the heading in this chapter only shows the Vestal date, just as the heading in the beginning of Chapter 6 showed only the Gregorian date. Whenever a scene takes place only among Vestals or only among Earthlings, the date will be exclusively in the native calendar. A link to the document setting the two calendars side-by-side is on my profile.


	16. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

_Xenia's Palace_

_29 Ananeosis, 20 Zenoheld (1 Xenia)_

"Good riddance to bad rubbish," Demophilus said brusquely.

"Demophilus!" Xenia scolded. "Zenoheld may not have been the best of men, but he was still your uncle and your king! Show some respect!"

Demophilus bowed to her. "My apologies, mother."

Xenia turned back to Mira. "Though someone's death should never be a cause for celebration"—she glared at Demophilus—"some good has come out of this. With both Zenoheld and Hydron dead, the crown will now fall to me. For the most part, reigning in my own right and not as simply 'Princess Regent' will be very liberating. However—"

At that moment, the porter, an old man wearing a dark red tabard that bore the royal coat of arms, entered the chamber. "Please forgive my intrusion, Your Highness. As you have commanded, I am here to tell you that the two guests you asked for have arrived."

"Thank you, porter. Let them in," Xenia instructed. She turned back to Mira. "Well, that particular train of thought will have to wait until later.

"Brawler Resistance, I would like for you to stay in the audience chamber. One of our new guests has news concerning one of the Vexos, and I would highly appreciate your input."

"Of course, Your Majesty," Mira replied, trying to keep her voice from wavering.

Just as Mira finished speaking, two people entered the audience chamber. One of them, a male Vestal standing at five-foot-six, wore a police officer's uniform. To the officer's left was a child who could be no older than eight. He stood at four-foot-two, and had fair skin, sandy hair, and light brown eyes. The kid was clothed in a white dress shirt, a blue bow tie, black dress pants, and black shoes.

From the moment he entered into the room, the kid was awestruck. His head was constantly turning every which way, taking in the sights of the audience chamber. Halfway into the audience chamber, however, he recognized the people standing in front of him: the Bakugan Brawlers Resistance, and Princess Xenia herself behind them.

The kid's eyes kept alternating between the brawlers and the royalty beyond them. As he kept switching his gaze between the two groups of people, his facial features underwent a gradual metamorphosis from awe to confusion. He held tightly onto the officer's arm as they continued to approach the dais. When they were in front of the throne, the two knelt.

"You may rise," Xenia said.

They stood, the kid still confused.

"Greetings. I am Princess Regent Xenia. To my right is my son, Margrave Demophilus. May I have your names?"

Trembling, the kid said, "A-A-Arthur L-Leocade, Y-Y-Your Highness."

Turning to the officer, Xenia said, "And you are…?"

"Officer Pytho, of the Varemed precinct, Your Highness," the man responded.

"Thank you," Regent Xenia said. "I received your report, Officer Pytho, and I must admit that it is troubling news indeed. You say that this young man witnessed Prince Hydron using a Death Bomb?"

"Yes, Your Highness," Officer Pytho replied.

"Then let me hear what happened."

"I believe that the kid will be able to tell you better than I could, Your Highness."

"Arthur, do you think that you can tell me what you saw?" Xenia asked.

Arthur took a deep breath. "I'll try, Your Highness."

"There's no need to be nervous, Arthur," Xenia said. "You are completely safe here."

He looked towards the Resistance briefly. "Then what's the Resistance doing here?"

"Them? They've recently arrived, and I've asked them to stay here to hear what you had to say. You _did_ witness something happen to the Vexos Volt Luster, yes?"

The Resistance members looked at each other at the mention of Volt.

"Yes, Your Highness," Arthur answered.

"Then please, tell us."

"O-OK," Arthur said. After taking another deep breath, he said, "It was Kapphemera the 26th. I was on my way home from playing ball with my friends when the ball slipped out of my hands, so I chased after it. That's when I saw Volt sitting down on a piece of rubble…."

* * *

_Arthur made his way through the rubble that peppered the Varemed streets. The high-city Vestals considered these streets too dangerous to navigate, but they were just cowards. Arthur could find his way through, no problem!_

_When Arthur found his ball, he saw that a man had stopped it under his foot. The man was twice his size and had white boots, a white cape, spiky peach hair,…_

_Could it possibly be…?_

"_Is this yours?" the man asked, holding the ball in his hands._

"_Yes, sir," Arthur replied._

_The man threw the ball back at Arthur, who easily caught it._

"_Hey, are you that guy from the Vexos?" the kid asked. "Volt, right?"_

"_You recognize me?" Volt responded._

"_Of course! It's not often that someone from around here makes it as big as you! You're the _man!"

"_But do you have any idea what we did?" Volt asked._

_Arthur had heard from his friends that a group of teenagers called the Bakugan Brawler Resistance had stood up against King Zenoheld. King Zenoheld had started sending Vestals to this new planet that he discovered—"New Vestroia"—which happened to be the homeworld of the "Bakugan" that had fallen from the sky years earlier. Just days ago, the Resistance had gotten on TV and said that the Bakugan were not mindless animals, but were instead intelligent beings. And what was more, the Bakugan even talked!_

_But _that _would mean that the Vexos were the bad guys, and that couldn't be right! Right?_

"_Oh, who cares, dude?" Arthur concluded. "You are still our number-one hero!"_

_It was no secret that Volt was also a native of the Varemed slums. After he made it big, people slowly started to get the idea that they could do more than hurt each other to try to make themselves stronger. Some people even brought up the idea of trying to clean up the city. No one else seemed to care about Varemed's fate, so why not?_

"_So, are you back here to stay, Volt?" Arthur asked._

"_Um … you bet!" Volt replied._

"_Awesome! Can you teach me to brawl like you?"_

"_You mean with Bakugan?"_

"_Mm-hmm. When I grow up, I wanna be a wicked battle brawler, just like you!"_

"_Sure. OK."_

"_Really? Promise?"_

"_Yeah, I promise." Volt stood up, ready to move on._

"_You're the best, Volt!" Arthur exclaimed._

"_Ha!" Volt mussed the kid's hair. "Thanks, kid._

"_You'd better run along now. I bet your mom is … probably wondering … where you are."_

_Excited at the prospect of being taught to brawl by the Volt Luster, Arthur did not pay attention to Volt's hesitation, simply responding, "Mm-hmm."_

_Running off in the direction he came from, he yelled to his friends, who had been watching from a distance, "Hey, guys! Volt said he was going to train me to brawl!"_

* * *

"After that, I ran back to my friends, and we continued on our way home," Arthur said to the Vestals assembled in the audience chamber. "But right after, I heard a big 'BOOM!' coming from just where I was talking to Volt. So I went back to see what happened. And it was the most awesome sight! There was this _huge_ Bakugan that looked like a robot—"

"A robot?" Mira asked. "Could you please describe it for the rest of us?"

"Why? Volt didn't thrash you enough times with it?" Arthur deadpanned.

"I'd like to know what the Bakugan looked like," Xenia cut in. "Please describe it for me."

"Of course, Your Highness," Arthur replied with a bow. "The Bakugan was a big white robot, with a head like some kind of animal's. It had huge golden horns growing out of its head, and the BOOM that I heard was the sound of it punching the ground in front of Prince Hydron.

"That part still confuses me, though. How did it get there so fast? And there were a lot of new craters and scorch marks that looked like there was a big Bakugan brawl, but I was just there!"

"Did no one ever tell you, Arthur?" Mira said.

"Tell me what?"

"If a Bakugan brawl is started outside of the official stadiums and training facilities, the same dimensional energies that allow the Bakugan to manifest full-size also create a pocket dimension outside of normal spacetime."

"Uh…could you repeat that in plain Vestal?" Arthur said.

"In other words, when you start a brawl in the streets, you create a space where time doesn't flow as quickly. Once the brawl is over, it is as if no time at all has passed in the outside world. King Zenoheld had put in a ban on brawling outside of authorized brawling facilities for that very reason, as those places have technology in place to counteract the spacetime distortion."

"Oh. Cool." Arthur grinned broadly.

Meanwhile, Baron was deep in thought. After Mira finished her explanation, Baron called his fellow Resistance members. "That Bakugan Arthur described. I know that I've seen it before. It's that long-name Bakugan that Volt uses now. What was its name? Haos Bore-ah…no, that's not it. Bore-ee…that's not it, either. Hold on, I've almost got it… Bore-eye…that's it! 'Boriates!' That's Volt's Mechanical Bakugan, 'Haos Boriates'!"

"Wow, he _really_ didn't thrash you enough times with it if you can't remember its name," Arthur quipped, having overheard Baron struggling to remember Boriates' name.

"That will be enough of that," Demophilus interjected. "I see that you are fond of Volt, Mr. Leocade, but that does not permit you to make snide remarks at invited guests of the regent. Am I understood?"

Arthur bowed his head under Demophilus' stern gaze. "Yes, sir." He turned towards the Resistance. Bowing, he said, "I'm sorry."

"Good. But that's 'yes, _milord_'," Demophilus gently corrected.

"Yes, milord."

"That's better. Now, continue your story, please."

"Yes, milord. 'Kay, where'd I leave off...? Oh, yeah, so Volt's Bakugan, Boriaites—"

"'Boriates,'" Ace corrected.

"Yeah, thanks—had punched the ground and left a giant crater in front of Prince Hydron. Then it turned into a marble and flew into Volt's hand. Then Volt said, 'Leave now. I never wanna see your face again,' and the Prince totally lost it! He started screaming something about losing, and called Volt 'a mere underling' and 'a servant.' I dunno where he got it, but the next thing I knew, he rolled some black-and-white ball in front of Volt. And then Volt started sinking into the ground!"

Everyone but Xenia and Officer Pytho was shocked at the statement.

"He _what_?" Demophilus asked.

"That's what I saw: Volt started sinking into the ground," Arthur said. "When he was up to his chest, he grabbed Prince Hydron's leg. But Prince Hydron somehow got free, and Volt disappeared. And then the Prince dematerialized after that happened."

"He was probably teleported back to the Motherpalace," Demophilus commented.

"When the coast was clear, I ran towards the battle site." Tears came to Arthur's eyes as he went on: "But there was no one there anymore. I tried digging with my hands near where I saw Volt sink into the ground, but that plan went nowhere fast. That's when I saw it. Right by the pile of rubble where I first saw him sitting, I saw a big canvas bag. I looked inside, and Volt's clothes were in it."

Turning towards the Resistance, Arthur said, "So now do you get it? That's all that's left of him! A canvas bag!" He dropped to his knees and cried.

After a moment, Xenia rose from her throne and approached the little boy. She knelt down to his eye level and cupped his chin. "It's all right, Arthur," she said in a motherly tone. "You don't have to cry."

The boy sniffled and looked up at her. "I don't?"

"No. You see, Volt isn't dead."

"But...but even if he isn't, I'll still never get to see him again! He'll never get to teach me how to brawl!" And Arthur kept bawling.

"Now that's not true," Xenia said.

Between sniffles, Arthur managed to let out a tiny "Huh?"

"You will get to see him again."

"You…you mean it?"

"Of course. You have my word."

"But…how?"

"You'll see. But for now, calm down and dry your eyes."

"Yes, Your Highness." Arthur stopped crying and wiped his tears onto his sleeve.

Xenia smiled and returned to her throne.

Officer Pytho knelt down to Arthur's eye level. "I'm sorry I asked you to do that, kid," he said gently. "Perhaps I should have told the story."

"It's OK," Arthur replied. He rubbed some grit out of his eyes. "I was there; it made sense for me to talk about it."

As the officer stood up, Xenia asked, "Officer Pytho, your precinct investigated the scene, right?"

"That's correct, Your Highness," he replied. "I was on patrol and saw this little guy crying next to a canvas bag. His friends were there, too. I thought that maybe they had run away from home, but when I asked, he said the bag belonged to Volt Luster. Now of course I didn't believe it at first; why would one of the Vexos be in Varemed, of all places? So I looked inside the bag to see if there was anything in there that could help me identify him. But the kid was telling the clothes inside were way too big for him, and we also found a picture of Volt with his family. So I asked Arthur and his friends for their addresses and promised him that I'd have my men investigate the area."

"And what did you find?" Xenia asked.

"It's all in the report, Your Highness. The residual energy traces in the area were consistent with a Death Bomb detonation. And as per your directive about Death Bomb use, we contacted you immediately."

"You did well, Officer," Xenia said.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Throughout the conversation, Mira was deep in thought. Turning to the officer, she asked, "Sir, what is today's date?"

"Why do you ask?" Demophilus questioned.

"I think that I might have just stumbled upon something, but with all this interdimensional travel, I want to make sure that I have my dates right." Turning back to the officer, she asked again, "So, please tell me, sir: What is today's date?"

"Today is Gammemera, 29 Ananeosis."

"I thought so. Thank you very much."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Baron asked.

"Everything. Ace, when did we get that data from Lync?"

"Lync _Volan_? That self-serving little mouse?!" Demophilus blurted out.

Xenia gave him a meaningful look.

"That was the day before Keith ran off to fight King Zenoheld," Ace said.

"So... two days ago," Mira concluded. "Your Majesty, I'm willing to bet that Lync was also the victim of a Death Bomb."

"Wait. You're not saying…?" Baron queried.

"Exactly. Both Volt and Lync risked their lives to stand against King Zenoheld."

**A/N: **The dialogue from the flashback scene is from _Volt's Revolt._


	17. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

_Xenia's Palace_

_29 Ananeosis, 20 Zenoheld (1 Xenia)_

"What do you mean by this?" Demophilus demanded.

Mira replied, "As I said, we received some intelligence from Lync Volan two days ago—Alphemera the 27th. He'd already disappeared, probably via another Death Bomb, but the data disc he left for us had information about the Alternative Weapon System. That's how we knew Zenoheld had been planning on constructing it to begin with.

"So, since Volt was banished on the 26th, and Lync disappeared the day after—though not without leaving this valuable data behind—it's fair to assume that they were both banished for standing against King Zenoheld. I shudder to think what his plans for the Alternative were if even the Vexos couldn't support him."

"Wait a second," Arthur said. "Prince Hydron didn't banish Volt because he wanted to join up with you guys?"

Ace laughed. "Kid, Spectra Phantom is Mira's _brother_, and _he _only switched sides after he got beat by Drago, one of the legendary Six Fighting Bakugan. What do you think that says about Volt?"

"Spectra is Mira's brother?" Arthur echoed, face scrunched up in confusion. "Wow. Sounds like the weirdest family reunion ever."

"We've already dealt with it," Mira said.

"And what about King Zenoheld wanting to blow up the planet?" Arthur continued. "I heard that the Astos made that up to make the Royal Family look bad."

"And who told you that?" Xenia asked.

"My mom. She said that Duke Prove had proven that the Astos created those 'transmissions' where the King threatened to blow up Vestal in order get people on their side. People don't really trust the nobles now, so it must be working."

Ace scowled. "Of course he did. Scams like that are right in line with that slime of a duke. Er, no offense meant to Your Highness."

"None taken. The Goddess knows we can't choose our family, even if we want to," Xenia replied.

"I know that Duke Prove is Shadow's father, but whatcha got against _him_?" Baron asked.

"Are you serious?" Ace blurted out. "Are you really serious?"

"Hey, a lot of stuff's happened since we left Vestal!" Baron said. "How am I supposed to remember what some duke may have done months ago?"

Ace took a breath, but from his demeanor, his reply would not have been in a calm tone of voice.

So Demophilus cut in. "Let me see if I cannot jog your memory, Mr. Leltoy. The Resistance's actions have had serious ramifications on the balance of power here on Vestal. During the months after King Zenoheld left the planet, controversy and dissension threatened complete anarchy. With the king and crown prince exiled, the dukes did all they could to keep the peace in their duchies, and eventually restored a semblance of order under my mother as regent."

"Now I remember," Baron said. "Duke Prove was a big player in that, wasn't he?"

"Yes, sadly," Demophilus answered.

"But _then_ he wanted to use his newfound popularity to start a witch-hunt for _us_, remember?!" Ace exclaimed. "He wanted to have us arrested for treason! It's thanks to the regent that we didn't have to deal with _him_ as well as try to find Zenoheld!"

"Oh, yeah! That snake! Even though _we _had also asked the people to accept the idea of Xenia ruling as regent!" Baron replied.

"For which I am eternally grateful to all three of you," Xenia said.

Baron smiled proudly. "But, Your Majesty, who are these 'Astos'?"

"After I took power as regent, the populace eventually split into several factions," Xenia explained. "I'm guessing that this happened after you left Vestal, as there's no way you could have avoided hearing of it otherwise.

"The Astos Coalition is one of the major factions on Vestal. They want to abolish the monarchy altogether and replace us with some kind of elected ruling council. They are mostly peaceful, mainly flooding the mail room with petitions for me to step down and staging protests at my every appearance.

"However, there have reportedly been attempts on my life by some of their more radical members. Of course, their leader, Thomas Rutilius, disclaims any responsibility."

Demophilus added, "A month ago, there was an attempt on my mother's life during one of her routine visits to an orphanage in Duchy Imprimis, where my march is located.

"My father noticed the gunman's approach and pushed my mother away, putting himself in front of the shot. Caligo has no jurisdiction outside of his own duchy, but he's been trying to influence the investigation. In my opinion, he wants to find some way to pin the blame on the Astos. I have my own suspicions, though."

"To continue on the topic at hand," Xenia said, "Duke Prove himself is at the head of another faction, the Choron Alliance. This faction is composed of Vestals who are still loyal to Zenoheld, and they have continually been calling for me to find and arrest the 'traitors' that led to his flight. In general, they want me to 'do my duty' and continue Zenoheld's policies: The more extreme members have been pestering me to declare war on New Vestroia, and the more moderate members—if we can call them that—'only' ask me to seek coexistence with the Bakugan. Which to them would mean continuing to colonize the planet and subjugate the Bakugan 'as is clearly our right as the superior species.'" Xenia rolled her eyes.

"As far as we know, they do not have a large following, but they're fairly influential and impossible to ignore. Duke Prove is my late brother's cousin and next in line after myself and Demophilus, which means some of the other nobles are allied with him.

"Their ultimate goal, however, is to have Zenoheld return to his 'rightful' place as king. I'm not sure what they'll do now that Zenoheld is dead, but none of the possibilities are appealing."

After a slight pause, Xenia continued, "And rounding out the major factions—though this last group isn't really an organized 'faction'—are the Loyalists. Most of the rest of Vestal belong to this group. What sets them apart is that they only distrust King Zenoheld, not the Royal Family as a whole. You could say it's mainly because of them that he didn't come back.

"I've heard talk among some Loyalist subgroups that I should have proclaimed myself Queen already; they believe keeping the title 'Regent' continues to legitimize a reign that they think ended as soon as my brother and nephew left Vestal. But if Zenoheld and Hydron are truly dead, then I am now Queen by right."

Looking at Arthur, she continued, "And Arthur, all of that means that I can find out where Volt was banished to and send someone there to bring him back. Once again, you have my word: You will get to see Volt again."

"I will? Thank you, Your Majesty!" Arthur exclaimed. He started to run towards Xenia, but caught himself two steps into his path.

Xenia, sensing Arthur's restraint, spread her arms wide and nodded her head. Arthur then ran towards Xenia and gave her a big hug, tears of joy now falling down his face.

Once Arthur finished crying, he got down from Xenia's throne.

"But … I need you to do something _very_ important," said Xenia.

"What is it, Your Majesty?" Arthur asked.

"Keep it a secret for now that Zenoheld and Hydron are dead and that I am now to be Queen. I want it to be a surprise for when the official announcement is made."

"So I can't tell anyone?"

"No one."

"Not even my mother?"

"No, not even your mother."

Arthur was silent for a moment.

"I gave you my word that I would rescue Volt. Can't you make me a promise in return?" Xenia prompted.

"Er…sure, Your Majesty!"

"Your Majesty, if I may—" Mira began.

"Of course," Xenia interrupted. "Arthur, please don't say anything about Spectra being Mira's brother, either. You wouldn't want to add to an already awkward situation, would you?" She turned to Mira. "That was your concern, yes, Ms. Clay?"

"Yes, it was; thank you, Your Majesty," Mira answered.

"Well, Arthur?" Xenia asked.

"I'll keep that secret, too, Your Majesty," the boy answered.

"Good," said Xenia. "Officer, please escort Mr. Leocade back home. I will take care of things from here."

"Yes, Your Majesty," Officer Pytho replied.

"And of course, the same orders apply to you, too: keep quiet about my succession," Xenia said.

"Yes, Your Majesty," the officer said. And with that, the two left the audience chamber.

"And I believe that leads us back to that original train of thought," Xenia said once the doors closed after Arthur and Officer Pytho.

"Your Majesty?" Mira questioned.

"Remember that I said that my new status as Queen was mostly good news?" Xenia asked.

"Oh, right," said Ace. "Then there was a 'however' before the porter and those other guys came in and we got off-topic."

"At this point, that 'however' should be quite clear," said Xenia. "News of King Zenoheld and Prince Hydon's deaths will definitely cause an uproar. More importantly, I will need physical proof of their deaths, since I cannot just take your word for it. Even if I could, neither Speaker Rutilius nor Duke Prove would take _my_ word for it—Duke Prove especially."

"Finding proof won't be a problem, Your Majesty," Mira said.

"I hope not," Xenia replied. "Porter!"

The porter, who was standing by the door after Arthur and Pytho left, replied, "Yes, Your Majesty?"

"Have quarters prepared for the Resistance. They are to remain in the palace until further notice."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

**A/N:** And with this chapter, this rewrite has, as promised, gone over the same material as the original and added two extra chapters (the Prologue and Chapter 11). If things turn out as I hope, I should now be coming out with a new chapter once per month—maybe even twice per month, depending on how Real Life treats me and my betas. Two new chapters have already been written, and a third is in the works, so new material should not be far in coming.

Reviews are highly appreciated, so: what do you think of the rewrite? And what do you think is coming up for Volt and for the Resistance?


	18. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

_En Route to Xenia's Palace_

_1 Epombria, 20 Zenoheld_

"Milord Caligo, Regent Xenia requests your presence in her conference room at noon two days from today."

That announcement from one of King Zenoheld's messengers—Caligo refused to refer to them as Xenia's—was the reason why the duke was currently in one of his armored hovercars, heading towards the princess's summer palace.

_It had better not be another farce of a negotiation_, Caligo had thought. For the past few months since he had helped install her as regent, Xenia had been nothing but a thorn in his side, first actively opposing him against the rebellious Bakugan Resistance, and then actually entering into talks about sharing power! What did Xenia think she was, queen regnant?

At least it would _seem_ reasonable if the other parties were fellow nobles, those born to rule. But therein was the added insult: she had the gall to have at her negotiations not just him and his fellow peers in the Choron Alliance, but also those unwashed commoners calling themselves the Astos Coalition.

Caligo did have to acknowledge, though, that at the very least, Xenia not a complete sycophant. She got the so-called Coalition to acknowledge that the Crown was not going away. At this point, Rutilius and his cronies had decided that it would be more prudent to have some sort of hybrid government where the sovereign could overrule any decision that their proposed body of squabbling politicians could come up with. Still ridiculous, but at least it was progress.

But Xenia forgot something important: None of those changes could happen unless she became queen. And as long as Caligo had anything to say about it, _Princess _Xenia would not forget that _Zenoheld_, not she, was sovereign. She was only keeping _his_ seat warm and upholding _his_ peace.

And should Zenoheld not return…

* * *

_Xenia's Palace_

"Your Highness: Duke Caligo Profunda Prove of Duchy Amauros."

With the porter's announcement, Caligo entered the conference room. Over the months of "negotiations," the duke was utterly familiar with the usual layout: guards stationed at each corner, with two more on either side of the door he walked through; the long rectangular table in the middle of the chamber; and Xenia's seat at the head of the table, Vestal Royal Family coat of arms on the wall behind her.

However, the usual layout did not greet him today. A circular table had been placed in the room this time, Xenia's seat, of course, being in front of the coat of arms.

Seated alongside Xenia was a motley crew of Vestals. To Xenia's immediate left was a teenaged girl with orange hair—Mira Clay, the leader of the rebels he had been seeking to put to the king's justice. To Mira's left were her co-conspirators: Ace Grit and Baron Leltoy.

That last one irritated Caligo to no end. Even though the barony was abolished years before he was even born, it still irked him how many commoners would take the old title as a given name. That a boy named "Baron" should be a traitor to the Crown...well, if that wasn't a sign that Vestal badly needed help, he didn't know what was.

Margrave Demophilus sat to the princess's right, and to Demophilus' right was a man that the duke did not expect to see in the room at all. He was a bald old man in a white robe and red miter. Though the old man's back was to Caligo from his vantage point, he suspected that he knew whom he was looking at.

As Caligo entered the room, he undid the silver clasp that held up the black cape that he was wearing and gave the cape to a nearby servant to put away until his departure. Caligo then headed straight for the seat directly across from Xenia. Unfortunately, that put him to the immediate left of the irksome Baron Leltoy.

As he sat down, Caligo's suspicions were confirmed. The old man to Demophilus's right wore a white robe with gold threads throughout the hems and a red flame outlined in gold across the chest. A similar flame decorated the front of the miter. Only one man wore that garb: Geron Hierophanus, High Archon of the Temple of Vesta. _But why is he here?_ Caligo thought. _He hasn't even implied that he'd depart from the Temple's neutral stance in politics..._

About a half-minute after Caligo sat down, the porter arrived again. "Your Highness: Speaker Thomas Rutilius of the Astos Coalition."

Caligo didn't even try to hide a sneer as the rabble-rouser entered the throne room. Any fool could tell who between them had true power just by looking; Caligo guessed that Rutilius was five or six inches shorter than himself.

Even Rutilius' dress showed that he was just a commoner baying at power. Unlike the duke's black uniform coat with purple accents, Rutilius only had a blue vest, an off-white dress shirt, a cyan tie, and blue dress pants. The upstart's jet-black hair was slicked back with a copious amount of hair gel, and he wore narrow, blue-rimmed glasses. If either of those last effects were attempts to make him look sophisticated, they failed: they only looked gauche.

Rutilius approached Xenia and said, "Greetings, Your Highness." Ever the sycophant, he bowed low and kissed her hand before going to the remaining seat at the table, which was between Hierophanus and Caligo.

_Wonderful,_ Caligo thought. _Rutilius to my left and the treacherous "Baron" to my right. Lady Vesta, how could this day be any _more _auspicious?_

"Good," said Xenia. "Now that everybody's all here, we can begin."

"Let me make something clear right now and save us some time," the duke said. "As long as King Zenoheld is alive, my priority—which should have also been yours—is to see him restored to the throne. As long as he lives, the Choron Alliance will neither accept the fiction of you as queen nor _any_ harebrained scheme to share power with a group of _peasants_."

"The Conclave is far from a 'harebrained scheme'!" Rutilius responded. "For a long time, many of your fellow dukes have allowed—and _still_ allow—for councils of citizens to keep them more attuned with the feelings of their subjects. I am—"

"Starting to resemble a malfunctioning holodisc; I've heard this argument before!" Caligo interrupted. "And ridiculously naïve to boot if you think that it will work on a planetary scale! Perhaps a bunch of arguing old men may work as a government in whatever backwater duchy you come from—forgive me; I forget easily—but here in the _real_ world, decision-making is best done by _one_ mind, _not_ by committee."

Turning his focus to Xenia, he continued, "So I reiterate, Xenia: unless you plan on making some _real _progress today—that is, focusing your efforts on finding the _rightful _occupant of that seat in which you're so comfortably ensconced—please spare all of us the trouble and allow us to take our leave."

"Your objections are duly noted, _Caligo_," Demophilus retorted, "but even though you may be her cousin, it's still '_Your Highness_' to you.

"Wait, no: It's actually 'Your Majesty,' as of two days ago."

"'Your _Majesty_'?" Caligo repeated suspiciously. "So, Xenia, you've simply decided to just arrogate the crown for yourself? I'm not sure whether to applaud your boldness or call out your foolishness."

Demophilus was about to answer, but Xenia raised a hand in warning. "I have done no such thing, Caligo. The reason that I summoned everyone here is tied directly to the reason why I am Queen, with no need for legal fictions. I have received word from a reliable source that King Zenoheld and Prince Hydron are dead."

The duke could not believe his ears. "What?"

Simultaneously, Rutilius exclaimed, "He's dead?"

"Yes," Xenia replied. She indicated the Resistance. "These loyal Vestals brought the news to me. As the next in line after my late brother and nephew, the crown of Vestal therefore falls to me. Duke Caligo—"

"Begging your pardon," Caligo said, "but I'm willing to presume that I just misheard Your Highness. From _whom_ did you receive word of Zenoheld's demise?"

Xenia's face remained impassive. "Mira Clay, Ace Grit, and Baron Leltoy. Otherwise known collectively as—"

"The 'Bakugan Battle Brawlers Resistance,' I know. I just wanted to make sure. … Are you _mad_, Xenia?" He slammed both hands onto the table for emphasis, then rose from his seat and gestured in the Resistance members' general direction. "These are the same children your brother has been searching for—"

"You mean that _you_ have been searching for," Baron interjected.

"_You_ speak only when spoken to, boy!" Caligo snapped.

Baron scowled. "Thank you for reminding me, Your Grace," he said sarcastically.

"Much better." At least Leltoy wouldn't interrupt now. Caligo turned his focus back to Xenia: "The _king_—in whose name and by whose authority you rule—wanted them punished, and now you tell me they've reported him dead? Even if they're right, they should be in the dungeons, not your conference room!"

"Only if they've actually committed a crime, Your Grace."

Just entering the conference chamber—apparently without any introduction—was yet another thorn in Zenoheld's side. Rutilius, however, was first to utter the very sentiment on Caligo's mind:

"Spectra Phantom? I heard that you had been arrested!"

"A protective measure, I assure you," said the ex-leader of the Vexos. "Thanks to the Resistance, the Vexos aren't really the most popular Vestals on the planet. Neither are former Vexos, as it turns out." Turning towards the duke, he continued, "I understand why you distrust them, Your Grace, but allow me to say that the Resistance is indeed innocent of all wrongdoing. They did not kill King Zenoheld."

"First a bunch of traitors, and now a confessed defector from the employ of the Crown! Such an honorable gathering graces our presence!" Caligo replied. Turning back to Xenia, he continued, "Whom else will Her Highness call in support of her claim to the throne? A would-be psychic from the nearest mental ward? Or perhaps some barbarian from the streets of Varemed?"

"You'd be well advised to watch your tone, _Your Grace_," Xenia said. On cue, the guards' stances shifted, ready to react at any further command from the would-be queen. "As well as rethink your logic. Who else would know the fate of King Zenoheld but the very ones who sought an end to his reign? Besides, regardless of their affiliation, none of them brought about my brother's untimely death."

Caligo sat down again. "You know, I'd actually like to see where this is leading after all."

"Spectra," Xenia said, "could you please inform His Grace as to what actually befell the late king and his son?"

"Definitely, Your Majesty," Spectra said. "In the late evening of Bethemera, 28 Ananeosis, King Zenoheld deployed the Alternative Weapon System—a massive battleship with enough power to obliterate an entire planet in one shot. Contrary to what Your Grace has been trying to tell the Vestal people, King Zenoheld was indeed planning on turning that weapon towards Vestal. Haos Vexos Volt Luster had tried to leave the Vexos, and Ventus Vexos Lync Volan had actually forwarded the Alternative's plans to the Resistance, who were at the time completely unaware of the King's plans. Consequently, they have both been banished.

"As things stand, Gus Grav and I are all that remain of the Vexos."

"Are you trying to tell me that the Vexos—your _former_ subordinates—rebelled against King Zenoheld?" Caligo demanded.

"Some of them did, Your Grace," Spectra said.

"And what of my son, Margrave Nyktos—the Darkus Vexos, whom you call 'Shadow'? Surely _he _wasn't a part of this?"

"That is a different story, Your Grace. Earlier on the 28th, Shadow and Aquos Vexos Mylene Farrow tried to banish two members of the Resistance using a Death Bomb. I believe that Your Grace is familiar with the technology?"

"I am," Caligo replied.

Spectra continued, "Unfortunately, the Resistance got the upper hand, and Mylene and Shadow got sucked into the vortex instead. And currently, even Regent Xenia is powerless to determine where they are, as only the sovereign can access the Death Bomb specifications stored in the Royal Archives.

"I'm sorry, Your Grace."

"My son…" Caligo began trembling with rage. "So these … traitorous juveniles killed my cousin, his son, and two Vexos, one of them _my_ _son_?!" Pointing at Xenia, he said, "Certainly you will not deign to harbor them now, Xenia!

"Guards! Arrest these murderers!"

"Hold your positions!" Xenia countered. The three guards who'd begun to move toward the Resistance traded curious glances and returned to their posts. "Caligo, despite your title, the palace guard answers to _me_, not you. Furthermore, I promise you that I didn't know what happened to your son before Spectra Phantom told me."

Caligo was aghast. "Nonetheless, these…_children_ have blood on their hands! At least four people are dead because of them!"

"No one said _that_, Your Grace," Spectra interjected. "The Resistance stood against King Zenoheld, yes, but they didn't kill him or Prince Hydron."

"Then who did, Spectra?" Caligo spat.

"That's the sad part," Spectra said. "In the end, even Prince Hydron must have been disgusted with the entire thing. The Resistance crippled the Alternative Weapon System and set it to self-destruct. They then fled the ship, and King Zenoheld readied himself to do the same. However, Prince Hydron stopped Zenoheld and sacrificed himself to ensure his final fall. So in a way, King Zenoheld's murderer has already been brought to justice."

A startled silence quickly descended upon the room.

To Caligo, it was as if the entire world turned upside down. "Impossible," he managed to say in a voice barely above a whisper.

As Caligo continued, his words got louder. "Inconceivable. Ridiculous.

"Absolutely _preposterous!_ King Zenoheld, killed by his own son?!"

"I know it sounds unbelievable, Your Grace, but it is the truth," Spectra said.

Xenia nodded solemnly. "There's the answer you asked for, cousin. King Zenoheld is—"

"I refuse to believe it!" Caligo bellowed, slamming the table and getting out of his seat again.

"What?" Spectra exclaimed.

"You heard me," the duke snapped, approaching Spectra. "I refuse to believe it!

"If King Zenoheld had possessed a superweapon such as you described, then how could a couple of teenagers and an upstart boy have even _stopped_ him? Any sensible man would have shot them and been done with it!

"Furthermore, why in the holy name of Vesta would the king's only son bring about his father's death _as well as his own_? I'd understand a little better if you'd said that Hydron survived. After all, in _that_ scenario, _Hydron_ would be king now barring word getting out of what 'really' happened. But what would the prince have to gain in the bargain from killing himself?"

Caligo now stood inches away from the ex-Vexos. Stabbing a finger at Spectra's chest, he continued, "Here's what I think, Spectra: If Zenoheld is even dead at all, it was _you_ who killed him—or one of the Resistance members, most likely. You then concocted this story in order to try and worm yourself into Xenia's good graces, where you'd then bide your time before you stabbed _her_ in the back as well!

"As for me, I've heard quite enough," Caligo said, turning back towards the table. "Xenia, I must applaud your acting skills, and those of your witnesses. You lot thought up quite the story. I even understand why you brought in His Holiness—his presence makes ending the negotiations and assuming the throne a much quicker affair than it would have been otherwise. But I don't intend to simply roll over and let you take the crown. Remember, I have just as much advantage as you do while His Holiness is here."

Though most Vestals, including Caligo and his immediate family, no longer followed the old religion, Vestal tradition still required that the High Archon officiate the coronation of a new monarch. By extension, he was also to be informed of the death of the current monarch, and he had the right to preside over any succession challenges.

Thus Caligo returned to his chair, but did not sit down. "Your Holiness?"

"Yes, Duke Caligo?" replied Hierophanus.

"As next in line to the throne of Vestal after Princess Regent Xenia Alethina of the Houses Hestia and Epipuron and Margrave Demophilus Alexandros of House Epipuron, I hereby invoke my right under the law of _nomos sarki_."

A hush fell over the room.

Baron nudged Mira as discreetly as he could. "What's 'nomi-socky'?"

Caligo sighed, sounding (and feeling) exactly like a teacher dealing with a problematic student. "_Nomos sarki_, if you must know, is one of a few laws that were made to resolve challenges to succession." How could one so juvenile possibly have been able to stand up to Zenoheld? "Any of the five members in the line of succession after the current claimant can invoke the law—as well as the two closest who aren't direct descendants, in case all of the aforementioned five are. When the reported circumstances of the sovereign's death are suspect, the challenge forces the current claimant—in this case, Xenia—to provide solid proof that the sovereign—Zenoheld—is indeed dead, and that neither she nor anyone acting under her orders was responsible for it. Or Prince Hydron's death, for that matter."

"So if she can't do it…" said Baron, mostly to himself.

"If she loses the challenge, she and her immediate family are removed from the line of succession. As next in line, I then succeed her. If she loses by default, I succeed as regent and become king after a year. If she loses otherwise, I succeed as king."

"Wait!" Demophilus cut in. "Your Holiness, isn't the challenge supposed to be issued within the Temple itself?"

"You are mistaken, milord Demophilus," Hierophanus replied. "It suffices only that the challenger come to me personally to inform me of his intention to issue the challenge. Of course, the normal order of things would be that the claimant reports the sovereign's death to me, and then I would report it to those eligible to invoke _nomos sarki_. The potential challengers would then have until the day of the succession announcement to come to the Temple, or wherever else I may be, and raise any challenge. Since I and both parties involved are all present, we can proceed as is."

"So, barring any further questions," Caligo said pointedly, "let me repeat myself. Your Holiness, I wish to invoke my right under the law of _nomos sarki_."

"Acknowledged," said Hierophanus. He then stood from his seat. "Princess Xenia Alethina of the Houses Hestia and Epipuron, please rise."

Xenia stood.

Hierophanus began: "Princess Xenia, dost thou withdraw thy claim to the throne of Vestal?"

"I do not, Your Holiness."

"So it is thy contention that Zenoheld Kratophilus Hestia, King of the Vestals, is dead?"

"Yes, Your Holiness."

"And that Hydron Kenodoxia Hestia, Crown Prince, and thus ahead of thee in the line of succession, is also dead?"

"Yes, Your Holiness."

"And that neither death is by thy hand, nor by the hand of one acting on thine orders?"

"Correct, Your Holiness."

"And that thou, as next in line after King Zenoheld and Crown Prince Hydron, art by right to succeed as Queen of the Vestals?"

"Yes, Your Holiness."

"Understand that falsehood in any of the aforementioned will not only disqualify thee, but also thine immediate issue, from ever taking the Crown. Standest thou to thine assertion?"

"Yes, Your Holiness."

"Very well." The priest turned to Caligo. "Challenger, state thy name."

"Caligo Profunda of House Prove, Duke of Amauros."

"By what right dost thou issue thy challenge?"

"I am third in line to the throne of Vestal, after the claimant, Princess Xenia Alethina of the Houses Hestia and Epipuron, and her son, Margrave Demophilus Alexandros of House Epipuron."

"Duke Caligo, thou hast heard the grounds for Princess Regent Xenia's claim to the throne. Dost thou claim her false?"

"Yes, Your Holiness."

"On what grounds?"

"I suspect the veracity of the account given by her and by those that support her claim to the throne. The witnesses that she has proffered are all avowed enemies of the Crown."

"Knowest thou that if King Zenoheld or Prince Hydron is found to merely be missing, not dead, neither fact shall lead to thy succession as King of the Vestals?"

"I understand, Your Holiness."

"Further, knowest thou that the King or Prince hath one year to reveal himself if he is indeed missing, not dead, after which Princess Xenia will claim the title of Queen of the Vestals?"

"Yes, Your Holiness," Caligo said, trying his hardest not to grit his teeth.

"Understand that thou shalt succeed as King _only_ _if_ it is found that both King Zenoheld and Prince Hydron are dead, _and _that the death of either King Zenoheld or Prince Hydron was by the hand of Princess Xenia or by the hand of another acting under her direction. Given this, wilt thou withdraw thy challenge?"

"I will not, Your Holiness."

"I ask thee again, Princess Xenia: Wilt thou withdraw thy claim?"

"I will not, Your Holiness," Xenia replied.

"Then I hereby acknowledge that the law of _nomos sarki_ hath been invoked. Princess Xenia, thou hast ten days to provide me with physical proof of the deaths of King Zenoheld and Prince Hydron. If a doctor or other learned professional is needed, so state, and I will pick one. Failure to comply will lead to forfeiture of thy place and that of thine immediate issue in the line of succession, as well as Duke Caligo succeeding thee as regent—and later as king should neither King Zenoheld nor Prince Hydron reveal himself within a year. Am I made clear?"

"Yes, Your Holiness."

"Princess Xenia, Duke Caligo: ye are dismissed."

After Xenia and Caligo returned to their seats, Xenia said, "Your Holiness, you need not wait the entire week. I had asked Spectra if he was able to present proof of his story. He said that he could escort us towards the battle site in the _Vestal Destroyer_."

Caligo had expected a dismissal, not further talk. He barely schooled his features out from the shocked expression he had before sneering, "Really, now? According to him, King Zenoheld died in an explosion two days ago! What proof could you possibly get from that?"

"Right after the battle, I took the time to gather or tag enough proof to verify my claims, Your Grace," Spectra replied, "including some of the remains of the late king and prince. If you wish, I can bring Your Grace, Her Majesty, and His Holiness there as soon as you'd like."

"I might as well indulge you a little further, if only to see your little story go down in flames," Caligo said. "But I believe that a coroner and a forensic expert would be needed."

"Princess Xenia?" Hierophanus said.

"I agree, we will need those experts."

"I will be able to have someone by tomorrow," Hierophanus said.

"And the delay would not be an inconvenience to you, Spectra?" Xenia asked.

"I see no harm in one day's delay," Spectra replied.

"Then it's decided," Hierophanus said. "Princess Xenia, Duke Caligo, Spectra Phantom: report to the Temple spaceport two hours after sunrise."

"Your Holiness, if it pleases you, I would like to be there as well," Rutilius cut in.

"I had almost forgotten you were here, Rutilius," Caligo sneered.

"I see no reason to object," said Hierophanus. "You may attend."

"Thank you, Your Holiness."

"Well, Xenia, I must admit, this certainly was more interesting than I had expected," Caligo said.

"I can't believe I'm about to say this, but I agree with His Grace," Rutilius said. "That was indeed quite the surprise. I am eager to see what happens tomorrow.

"With your leave, Your Majesty?"

"You are dismissed, Speaker," Xenia replied.

"Come tomorrow, a new Vestal will emerge, one way or another. Let us hope that it will be a better Majesty. Your Holiness. Assorted guests," Rutilius said, bowing low. And with that, he left the room.

"If that is all, do I have Your Highness's leave?" Caligo said.

"You may go, Caligo," Xenia replied with a sigh.

With that, Caligo left the room.

_For once, Rutilius is not wrong, _Caligo thought. _There will be a new, better Vestal come tomorrow. The only difference is that _my _new Vestal may not have any place for _him.

Chuckling to himself, Caligo prepared to leave the palace.


	19. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

_Fuschia City Pokémon Center_

_2 Epombria, 20 Zenoheld / April 2, 20—_

After agreeing to have Nurse Joy look at Volt's Shinx and then get breakfast, Volt and Maya returned to the Pokémon Center. The nurse gave them a cheerful smile as they entered.

"Hey, Nurse Joy!" Maya said, waving at the nurse. "Volt just told me about that Meowth we found yesterday. Poor thing, being abused by Team Rocket like that. How's it doing now?"

"It's in a back room right now, and I made sure to lock it," Nurse Joy replied. "It really aggravated its wounds last night, so it definitely needs some rest. Hopefully, I'll begin retraining it within the week."

"I know that it'll be in very good hands with you, Nurse Joy," Maya said.

"Why, thank you," Nurse Joy replied, giving a little curtsey.

"Nurse Joy?" Volt called.

"Yes?"

Volt handed Lars Lion's Poké Ball to her. "I just caught this Shinx yesterday. Could you tell me what level it's at?"

"Sure thing, Volt. Just give it to me for a few minutes and you'll have the results in no time."

* * *

A few minutes later, Nurse Joy returned holding Lars Lion's Poké Ball. "I've finished evaluating your Shinx, and I must say, you've got quite the powerhouse on your hands!"

"Really?" Volt asked.

"Sure. You're now the proud Trainer of a level 23 Shinx."

"But wouldn't that just make it on par with all the rest of the Pokémon around here?" Maya asked.

"If it were an ordinary wild Pokémon, yes. But there are two reasons that this Shinx doesn't fit that category," the nurse replied. "First, Shinx normally evolve at level 15, so it's rare to see a Shinx at levels higher than that."

"And the second reason?"

"It doesn't look like this Shinx was truly wild. Its musculature betrays very rigorous training. Furthermore, I found this in its coat." She held out a smooth gray stone with a small hole drilled in it and a thin rope threaded through the hole.

"Ooo, an Everstone!" said Maya. "Those keep a Pokémon from evolving, right?"

"But why would a Trainer deliberately stop a Pokémon from evolving?" Volt asked. "Isn't evolution how Pokémon get stronger?"

"That's generally true," Nurse Joy replied, "but there are many reasons why a Trainer might not want a Pokémon to evolve. Certain Pokémon learn moves faster in their pre-evolved states than after evolving, or don't learn any new moves at all after evolving. And some Pokémon can't learn certain moves unless they're kept from evolving."

_I suppose that makes sense_, thought Volt.

"In addition, Pokémon are generally cuter before evolution than after it, and some Trainers just don't want their Pokémon to change that much."

_And _that _is just plain vain,_ thought Volt. _First a family of nurses that look exactly the same, and now humans that deliberately stunt their charges' development? What else will I find on this planet? _

"What about this Shinx, then?" he asked.

"You don't have to keep the Everstone on Shinx if you don't want to. Did you want to?"

_Hopefully, I'm not going to be on this planet for long, so it shouldn't matter to me one way or the other,_ Volt thought. _But it's clear that these Pokémon are at least sentient, if not sapient._ "Let's ask Shinx," he replied.

Taking the Poké Ball, Volt said, "Lars Lion, rise!"

After Shinx appeared, Volt bent down to its eye level, Everstone in hand. "Lars Lion, Nurse Joy found this stone on you. Did you have a Trainer before me?"

Lars Lion flinched at the question. After a moment, it nodded.

"Was he the one who put this on you?"

With a sad "Shinx," Lars Lion nodded again.

"I have no idea what your last Trainer wanted to do, so I'll leave it to your judgment. Do you want to keep it?"

Lars Lion remembered exactly how it had felt to almost evolve. It remembered the glorious rush of energy, so strong it kind of hurt...and how much more it hurt when he dodged that thrown pebble and the energy left him. He remembered being shown a card with a picture of a Luxio on it, before hearing the master go on one of his tirades about weakness again. Lars Lion wasn't sure of the exact wording, but he remembered the weight of that stone around his neck and being called a "man-eared kitty cat."

Lars Lion scowled ferociously at the Everstone. With a loud cry, it forcefully swatted the item across the floor with a forepaw.

"I don't blame it," said Maya. "I'd probably be mad, too, if I wasn't allowed to grow up."

"You could say that again," Nurse Joy said, walking over to Volt. Putting a hand on Volt's shoulder, she whispered, "I don't know what kind of history that Shinx had with its previous master, but you'd better treat him right, got it?"

"Yes, ma'am," Volt replied. _What did I just get myself into by capturing this Pokémon?_

After a few moments, Maya cut into the growing silence. "Well, now that that's been sorted out, why don't we have breakfast?"

* * *

In the Pokémon Center's cafeteria, the Trainers and their Pokémon were all comfortably eating. Volt and Maya were seated at a table, and their respective Pokémon surrounded them. As Lars Lion ate his breakfast from his spot near Volt's feet, he continued to look up at his new Trainer.

_This new master is kind, _the Shinx thought. _He treated that Meowth well even though he only met it—and even though it turned out to be a no-good thief—and he actually gave me a choice with that Everstone. He might actually be better than my old master._

_And I'm also part of a new team—_

At that, Lars Lion noticed that his teammates' bowls were almost empty, while his was still half full due to his more leisurely pace.

"_Last _again_?!_" the Shinx heard his old master's voice playing in his mind. "_How am I ever going to get anywhere if I always have to wait for you to finish your food? And it's not as if you have the biggest plate among the team!_"

Lars Lion was _not_ about to disappoint his new master.

He began to pick up the pace, scarfing down multiple pellets at a bite. He was about halfway through his bowl when he suddenly felt a blockage in his airway. He started to cough, and when that didn't help, he cried out in a hoarse, barely audible voice: "**shinx**! **shinx**!"

"Lars Lion?" Volt asked, getting off his seat to kneel besides the Shinx. The other Pokémon turned to look at what was going on.

"What's wrong?" Maya asked.

"**shinx**!" Lars Lion coughed, batting at his mouth. "**shinx**!"

"Sounds like something got caught in its throat," said Maya. "Let me see.

"Hold still, little guy, this won't take long..."

Maya carefully laid him down on his side, then put one hand on his back and the other just below his ribs. He felt the hand near his ribs thrust inwards and upwards three times in a row. The piece of food came loose, and Lars Lion spat it out immediately. Maya removed her hands, but he stayed on the floor and took some deep breaths to calm down.

"Where did you learn that?" he heard Volt ask.

"You need to know some basic first aid when you're out in the field," Maya said. "Didn't you say that you had Pokémon of your own?"

"I was into robotics, so I spent a lot of time inside," Volt replied. "And my father had people to take care of our Pokémon."

"Well then, you'd better start learning quick. And you better not forget it once you return to Unova, either! You might find yourself in a situation where there's no vet around and it's either you or nobody," Maya replied.

Lars Lion got up and gave Maya's arm a friendly nuzzle. Then he licked it a few times.

"Hey, that tickles!"

He faced Volt and lowered his head. "Shinx, shinx," he meowed apologetically.

Volt cupped his chin and brought his face up. "Don't worry about it, OK? At least you're still alive."

Lars Lion smiled as tears welled up in his eyes.

"Though next time, try not eating so fast, OK?"

"Shinx!"

* * *

_Route 15, after breakfast_

"All right, this should be far enough away," said Maya.

"So what are we going to do now?" Volt asked.

Lars Lion, who'd remained out for the walk, looked around in interest.

"Easy. We're going to battle!"

"What? Then why didn't we stay inside the Pokémon Center?"

"You _do_ want to get to Vermillion City, right?" Maya said. "Then we can't stay in the Pokémon Center all day! Besides, out here we're guaranteed to find a wild Pokémon at some point, if not another Trainer with Pokémon closer in level to Apollodorus."

"Apollonir," Volt corrected.

"Same difference. Anyway, what we're going to do now is called switch-training. It's an effective method for training weaker Pokémon when the only other Pokémon around are significantly stronger.

"Chansey, come on out!"

After Chansey emerged, Maya continued, "Chansey happen to have a lot of stamina, so battling her will be a perfect way to see what your Pokémon are capable of.

"The way switch-training works is that one of your stronger Pokémon fights Chansey in order to weaken it, then Charmander finishes her off. That way both Pokémon who fought get some battle experience. Is that OK with you?"

"Sounds fine with me," Volt said. He took out Rhyhorn's Safari Ball. "Pokémon—"

Lars Lion ran right in front of Volt. "Shinx!"

"You want to fight Maya's Chansey? Are you feeling up to it, little guy?" Volt asked.

_If I can get some hits in, I might be able to start evolving again, _Lars Lion thought. "Shinx!"

"OK then. Maya, I'll be starting with Lars Lion."

"Shinx shinx!" Lars Lion meowed gratefully, and turned to face its opponent.

"I'll let you have the first move, Volt," Maya said.

"Thanks," said Volt. "Lars Lion, use Spark!"

Lars Lion wrapped his body with electricity, then rammed into the opposing Chansey. However, Chansey didn't even stumble backwards, and he felt like he'd just Tackled a well-stuffed mattress.

"Chansey, use Double Slap!"

Chansey grabbed Lars Lion's hind legs with one of her stubby arms and lifted him up. Then she used the other one to slap him across the face multiple times.

"Use Flash!"

Lars Lion rubbed his fur together, then loosed a blinding flash of light into the Chansey's eyes. Once Chansey let go, Lars Lion landed safely on his paws.

"Now, before it reorients itself! Use Quick Attack!"

Lars Lion complied at once. He tensed his muscles, then zipped behind Chansey and delivered a Quick Attack to its back. Its back had just as much give as its front, though; Chansey did not budge. _How bulky is this Pokémon?_

"Chansey, behind you! Use Strength!"

Lars Lion gasped as he saw Chansey glow white. Chansey spun around to face the Shinx and effortlessly tossed him over its head to land with a thud near where he had started his Quick Attack.

"Lars Lion!" Volt cried out.

The battered Shinx stood up carefully, shook himself, then pawed at the earth, growling defiantly.

"Nice, Lars Lion! Now use Thunder Wave!"

Lars Lion shot a thin bolt of electricity at Chansey, which hit just below the mouth and sent small ripples of electricity across its body.

"You can't stop Chansey that easily!" said Maya. "Use another Double Slap!"

"Lars Lion, use another Quick Attack!"

Lars Lion rushed towards the Chansey, ready to deliver another blow. Chansey raised an arm to Double Slap the approaching Shinx, but at the last second, it found itself unable to move, giving the Shinx the opportunity to get out of the arc of its Double Slap and deliver another Quick Attack.

"Good move, Lars Lion! Now once again, use Spark!"

Lars Lion rebounded to a yard away from Chansey. It then rammed into Chansey again with another Spark, this time causing the Egg Pokémon to stumble slightly before righting itself.

"Don't think that Chansey's done yet!" Maya said. "Minimize!"

Chansey glowed pink, shrank to about two inches tall, and casually walked right under Lars Lion's head.

"Interesting tactic, but what's the point of that?" Volt asked.

"Now Sing!" Maya commanded.

As Chansey sang, Lars Lion felt entranced by the beautiful melody. He struggled to keep his eyes open and stay attentive for any further commands from his new master. But before long, he succumbed to the song: he curled up on the ground and went to sleep.

* * *

When Volt saw Lars Lion collapse, he called out, "Lars Lion, get up!"

"Chansey's Sing put it to sleep," Maya explained. "Lars Lion might take a while to get up. You could try to wait and see if it will, but this might be a good time to send out your Charmander instead."

"Fine," Volt grumbled. "Lars Lion, return.

"Pokemon, brawl! Rise, Pyrus Apollonir!"

After the Charmander came out, it shot a burst of embers into the air.

"Hey, watch it, Apollonir! You don't want to start a forest fire, do you?!" Volt said.

Apollonir put one hand behind its head. "Char…" it said sheepishly.

"Yeah, be careful, Polly!" Maya added.

Charmander spat a puff of smoke towards Maya's face.

Maya coughed and waved the smoke away. "What was that for?"  
"Char char man char," Apollonir replied.

"Save your moves for the brawl, Apollonir," Volt said. "Use Ember on that Chansey!"

Charmander loosed a stream of embers towards Chansey, which had returned to its normal size. Once the Ember stream struck, Chansey let out a noise that sounded like laughter.

"What's so funny?" Volt asked.

"Remember what I said the last time we walked down this Route? Chansey have very high defenses against special attacks," Maya said. "Ember's not gonna do much damage to her."

Volt replied, "Then let's get up close and personal. Use Scratch!"

Apollonir ran towards Chansey, claws raised.

"Minimize!" Maya commanded.

Just as Charmander would have hit Chansey, the Pokémon shrank out of reach.

"Double Slap, Chansey!"

Chansey, still Minimized, slapped Apollonir on the ankle. The Charmander tried to stomp on the miniature Egg Pokémon, but it kept slipping away, slapping whatever was within reach as it sped around.

"Use Ember on the ground to stop it from moving!" Volt commanded.

At once, Apollonir took a few steps back and shot its Ember attack on the ground between it and Chansey. As the Chansey ran, Apollonir redirected the Ember stream to corral it in. Before long, a meandering loop of fire surrounded the miniature Chansey.

"Chansey, use Double Slap!"

Chansey grew back to normal size and reached for Apollonir.

"Apollonir, dodge it and use Scratch!"

Apollonir ducked under Chansey's stubby arm, then jumped and delivered a mighty Scratch to Chansey's face. However, Chansey remained upright.

"Still has some fight in her, huh?" Volt said. _I know that Maya said that Chansey can take a lot of damage, but it should have taken quite a bit of it by now. This will be a gamble, but…_ "Apollonir, Ember!"

Apollonir loosed a stream of embers at Chansey's face, which only got blackened once the attack finished.

Chansey rubbed some of the soot off and made a childish face at Apollonir. "Chan-seeeey," it taunted.

"Char…" Apollonir growled.

"How much more is it going to take?" Volt asked to no one in particular. "Apollonir, give it another Ember, as hot as you can make it!"

As Apollonir took a deep breath, yellow bits of energy started to coalesce in Charmander's mouth. Once Charmander was done, it let loose a blast of energy that pushed Chansey back.

"What was that?" Volt asked.

"That was Dragon Rage!" Maya said. "Congratulations, Volt! Charmander learned a new move! That means that it gained a few levels!"

"Good work, Apollonir!" Volt said. "But that Chansey is still up. Use Scratch!"

"Chansey, Strength!"

Apollonir rushed towards Chansey, but as it jumped to deliver another Scratch, Chansey caught it midflight and threw it towards a nearby tree.

"One more time, Apollonir: Dragon Rage!"

Charmander extracted itself from the tree and let loose another Dragon Rage, which hit Chansey dead on. Once the dust cleared, the Egg Pokémon was on its back.

"Well, it looks like Chansey is down," Maya said. "Congratulations, Volt!"

Apollonir jumped for joy. "Char! Char char!"

"Yes, congratulations to you, too, Apollonir," Volt said. Taking Lars Lion's Poké Ball in hand, he said, "And to you, too Lars Lion. Come on out."

* * *

As Lars Lion came out of its Poké Ball, he started to come to. As he surveyed his surroundings, he saw Apollonir jubilant, and the Chansey down on its back. The battle was over.

_I … failed?_

Apollonir ran straight to him, still wearing a huge grin. "_Thank you! Thank you! I couldn't have gotten stronger without all that work you put in! Uh … and Master, too, I guess, but it was mostly you!"_

"_What do you mean? I fell asleep mid-battle; that's not working!"_ Lars Lion replied.

_"Duh, Chansey used Sing. Of course you fell asleep! It wasn't your job to _win _this fight anyway; you were supposed to weaken it, and you did. Who knows what would have happened to me if you hadn't fought as hard as you did?_"

Lars thought for a little bit, then gave Apollonir a small smile of his own. "_In that case, I'm glad I could help you out."_

**A/N:** I know that the method Maya mentioned is not how switch-training works in-game. But remember that this fic is set in the anime, and it would make no sense there for a Pokémon to gain experience by just watching a fight. Thus, my modification to the idea.

Special thanks go to Iximaz for helping me get this chapter off the ground, and of course to my beta eatpraylove for helping bring this chapter to its present form.


	20. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

_Archia, Vestal Planetary Capital_

_2 Epombria, 20 Zenoheld (1 Xenia)_

At noon Capital time, every television and viewscreen on Planet Vestal stopped broadcasting. After a quick "breaking news" message, every available channel displayed the same image of Margrave Demophilus standing before his mother's throne.

"People of Vestal, I am Margrave Demophilus Alexandros of the House Epipuron, son of Princess Regent Xenia Alethina of the Houses Hestia and Epipuron," the transmission began. "As you all know, the Bakugan Brawlers Resistance and the Vexos members Spectra Phantom and Gus Grav returned to planet Vestal three days ago. Over the past few days, we have learned from them that the exiled King Zenoheld, who had been sending increasingly threatening transmissions throughout the planet, is reportedly dead.

"As per Vestal tradition, Regent Xenia has reported King Zenoheld's death to High Archon Geron Hierophanus. Duke Caligo Prove of the Choron Alliance has invoked the law of _nomos sarki_, challenging my mother's claims and effectively attempting to make himself king. As I speak, my mother Regent Xenia, Duke Prove, and High Archon Hierophanus are investigating the proof of Zenoheld's death. By leave of the High Archon, Speaker Thomas Rutilius of the Astos Coalition is also accompanying them.

"Let us pray for our leaders as we await their safe return."

* * *

_The_ Vestal Destroyer

Hopla, Provisional Co-Captain of the Royal Guard, stood at attention as she kept an eye on her charge.

_I am basically standing at the crossroads of history. Yesterday, she was a princess by birth and a margravine by marriage. Today, she will be queen, and I will be standing by her side as Captain of the Guard; no more of this "provisional co-captain" nonsense._

Xenia's other guard on the bridge was the other co-captain, Makhaira; he was the Captain of the Royal Guard under Zenoheld. Hopla had been captain of Margrave Epipuron's Guard before Xenia became regent, and was provisionally installed as co-captain after Xenia's rise to power. It was no secret that Makhaira had resented that move—and that some of the incumbent Royal Guards did not look kindly to the other March Guards added to their ranks—but aside from some snide remarks whenever Xenia was out of earshot, nothing happened that merited the regent's intervention.

Hopla and Makhaira were two of fifteen Vestals who were currently on the bridge of the _Vestal Destroyer_. Four of them—Queen Xenia, Speaker Rutilius, Duke Prove, and High Archon Hierophanus—were gazing at the viewscreen at the front of the bridge.

Also on the bridge were the infamous Spectra Phantom, his right-hand man Gus Grav, and Mira Clay, whom Spectra was acclimating to the bridge controls. At first, Hopla had been surprised to see the former enemies on the bridge together—and even more so to hear that the two were actually brother and sister! Perhaps the _Planetary Enquirer_ had been on to something.

A collection of various security personnel, which included herself, made up the rest of the number on the bridge. Rutilius had arrived at the spaceport that morning flanked by ten of his hired bodyguards. Duke Prove had brought ten of the Amauros Ducal Guard with him, and even Hierophanus had four Temple guardsmen with him. For her part, Xenia had brought ten of the Royal Guard. Each of the leaders chose two members of their respective entourages to stay on the bridge, while the remaining guards were left to patrol the _Destroyer_ and see to the safety of the remaining passengers, namely, the rest of the Bakugan Battle Brawlers Resistance, the coroner, the forensic analyst, and the experts' support teams.

Though no one on the bridge said a word, the tension in the room was palpable. For each pair of guards, one guard would keep a close eye on his charge, while the other kept watch over the entire bridge.

"So, where is this supposed battleground, Spectra?" Caligo sneered.

"We're almost there, Your Grace," Spectra answered.

"About time," the duke replied. "I don't know about you, but I tire of this rumbling flight. Didn't you or your servant do any maintenance on this ship?"

"It's not our fault, Your Grace," Gus replied. "A subspace disturbance is causing the turbulence, but we're unable to figure out what's causing it." He checked the console in front of him. "In any event, we'll be leaving the wormhole in three…two…one…"

The sight that came to the viewscreen stunned the adult observers on the bridge, Hopla included. Large fragments of Vestal architecture were floating all throughout the field of vision. One such fragment passed before the _Destroyer_, bearing a familiar coat of arms.

"Is that…?" Xenia gasped.

"Yes, Your Majesty," Spectra replied. "That's the wreckage of the Vestal Motherpalace."

"How…? How could this have happened?" Caligo asked breathlessly.

"That was the work of the Alternative Weapon System," Spectra answered. "Professor Clay was building it within the depths of the Motherpalace. When Zenoheld activated the device, it just ripped through it, leaving these ruins."

"It won't be hard to find proof of what Spectra said," Xenia added. "Many of the palace staff were fortunate enough to make it to escape pods scattered throughout the Motherpalace. The pods are programmed to go directly to Vestal once they're launched. They started landing not too long after the _Destroyer_ landed on Vestal, and every staff member that I've heard from so far agrees that a massive spaceship emerged from the depths of the Motherpalace and ripped it apart."

"That's all well and good, Princess Xenia, but Spectra also said that there was proof of the deaths of King Zenoheld and Prince Hydron—which you need in order to withstand Duke Caligo's challenge," Hierophanus said.

"Not to worry, Your Holiness," Spectra replied. "You'll have your proof very soon."

As the _Destroyer_ began to move away from the wreckage of the Motherpalace, an arrow appeared on the viewscreen. Every few seconds, a ping could be heard. The pings increased in frequency as Mira steered the ship in the indicated direction under Spectra's guidance. After a few minutes, the arrow flashed and the pings were near-constant; the _Destroyer_ had reached its destination.

A small planetoid was floating in front of them, spherical except for a large bite-shaped chunk missing from it. The inside of the bite seethed with molten rock.

"What could have possibly done that?" Rutilius said in awe.

"No vessel in the entire Vestal fleet has _that_ kind of power!" Xenia exclaimed.

"The Alternative did," said Gus. "I believe that Master Spectra mentioned that it could blow up a planet. The system's main gun left that hole we're seeing at only a fraction of its full power."

"And that planetoid is where I kept the remains that I was able to find of King Zenoheld and Prince Hydron," Spectra added.

* * *

After the _Destroyer_ landed on the planetoid—on the side opposite from the bite—Spectra and Gus led Xenia, Hierophanus, the faction leaders, all four sets of guards, and the experts and their support staffs towards a nearby cave. From each of the four entourages, a guard was commanded to stand watch at the mouth of the cave. Makhaira was among those commanded to stay at the entrance; Hopla accompanied Xenia with the other remaining Royal Guards.

A few meters into the cave, the opening widened to reveal a large chamber. Near the rear of the chamber was a giant mechanical fist, pockmarked and caked with small blood spatters. On closer inspection, they saw that the fist held the remains of a torso.

"This is the fist of Subterra Dryoid, Prince Hydron's Mechanical Bakugan," Spectra announced. "And the body that Dryoid's holding is none other than that of King Zenoheld."

"Let's let the professionals determine that, shall we?" Caligo remarked.

Immediately, the cave became a hive of activity as the experts' teams poked, prodded, and generally made a fuss around the fist. The remaining Vestals stood in various places throughout the cavern, the four leaders all flanked by their security details.

The experts' teams spent a few minutes prying the fist's fingers loose in order to give the coroner better access to the torso. Afterwards, the forensic analyst and his team focused on the fist itself, while the coroner and his team focused on the torso. After his team made a series of measurements and took copious notes, the coroner took out a device that had a rectangular screen on top of a long, protruding spike: a DNA analyzer. When he stuck the device in the torso, the readout lit up, and a small, cartoony double-helix image began spinning in place.

After a few moments, Xenia asked, "So, whose body is this?"

The coroner scanned the readout. "A few more moments, Your Highness. However, while we wait, much can be gleaned from just looking at the state of these remains."

"Continue," Xenia said.

"There's no question that this Vestal is dead, but notice that the top part of the torso is cauterized shut. The top is also the only part that has bits of molten metal fused to it. Both of these details are consistent with the story that this fist was holding the body when a heat-generating explosion killed him."

The DNA analyzer beeped, signaling that it finished its analysis.

"Perfect timing." The coroner scanned the readout. "And according to the analyzer, the body trapped in this fist … is none other than King Zenoheld."

The guards, Vexos members, Speaker Rutilius, and most of the others bowed their heads in respect. Some of the guards began to cry softly, as did Princess Xenia. Caligo stared slack-jawed at the metal fist.

After a few moments, Caligo finally broke the silence. "And the fist itself?"

"We're still investigating, Your Grace," the forensic expert said. "Please wait a bit longer until I'm done."

"Let's not forget that the issue of Zenoheld's heir is still open," Hierophanus commented. "Indubitably, King Zenoheld is no longer with us, but what of Prince Hydron?"

"Right here, Your Holiness," said Gus. He indicated a rectangular capsule beside him, which had been next to the metal fist. "Unlike King Zenoheld, Prince Hydron was not fortunate enough to have had much of his body shielded from the blast. Master Spectra and I found these body parts scattered all over."

Indeed, inside the capsule were multiple hermetically-sealed bags, each containing some bodily tissue: parts of limbs, bone fragments, pieces of organs, or other assorted viscera. Hopla winced at the sight. She wondered what must have been going through the minds of the incumbent royal guardsmen to see the remains of one that must have been a major part of their lives, second only to King Zenoheld himself. She had been installed into the Magnalba March Guard when then-Count Demophilus was but a child; she doubted that she'd even be able to remain standing if that were all that remained of _his_ body.

The coroner and his team immediately took samples and swabs, and tested each one. After several minutes of checking, re-checking, and conferring, the coroner announced, "We've finished our analyses. Each of these tissue fragments has come from either of two Vestals: the late King Zenoheld … or Crown Prince Hydron. Goddess grant them rest."

The cave was dead silent as the hearers processed the news. After about a minute, Hierophanus said, "So indeed, King Zenoheld and Prince Hydron are both dead."

"But before we start hailing our new queen," Caligo interrupted, "the identity of Zenoheld's killer is still in dispute, as far as I'm concerned. The analyst seems to be done with the fist now, so let's see what he has to say."

"So headstrong," Hierophanus sighed. "Fine, let's hear the results."

The forensic analyst said, "Given the pattern of the tear, as well as the pockmarks on the fist itself, it is safe to say that it was forcefully separated from the rest of its body by an explosion."

"And can you confirm that this fist is indeed that of Subterra Dryoid?" Caligo asked.

"Not at the moment, Your Grace," the analyst replied. "We would have to send it back to Vestal for testing; there may be identification marks that could point to its maker. To be honest, I wouldn't have even considered that it could be a Bakugan's fist if I hadn't been told that mechanical Bakugan existed.

"However, my team and I do know where it _couldn't_ have come from, if that helps."

"It may. Continue," said Xenia.

"Given the nature of His Grace's suspicions, I and my team made sure to familiarize ourselves with the last known specifications of Pyrus Helios and Subterra Vulcan yesterday," the analyst continued. "This fist is Vestaloid rather than reptilian, so that rules out Helios.

"You can also see here that this fist is colored black. We made sure to look at the paint itself; the black is the original and not a coat added to cover the original color."

"How is that important?" Rutilius asked.

"It's important because Vulcan's hands are brown," Gus said.

The analyst nodded. "Exactly. I've never seen Subterra Dryoid on Vestal before, so I can't say whether this is his. But since it doesn't belong to Pyrus Helios or Subterra Vulcan, Spectra and Gus should be ruled out as suspects."

Silence once again filled the cave.

After a while, Xenia said, "All of this is indeed quite the burden to bear. To think that a partial corpse trapped in a fist would be what is left of my brother. While we still cannot confirm that Hydron was indeed the killer—much less fathom why—it is at least some closure to have definitive proof of their fates."

Tears started to pool in her eyes again. "Recent memory will decry my brother as a power-hungry deceiver, but I pray that history will eventually remember that King Zenoheld skillfully ruled the people of Vestal for twenty years, and even in these last few years, he acted in what he thought was the best interest of our crowded people. I only hope that I prove myself worthy to follow in his footsteps."

Scattered shouts of "hear, hear" could be heard throughout the cave in reply.

Hopla frowned in confusion. It might have just been the echo, but she was sure she had just heard laser fire amidst the cheering. She looked around the cave and noticed that five members of the Astos group were missing.

Hierophanus, standing between the leaders' entourages and the fist, didn't notice anything, but waited until things had quieted down to begin. "Congratulations, Princess Xenia. Your claim to the throne has been upheld. Of course, the official proclamation and full ceremony will have to wait until we return to Vestal, but as the saying goes, 'Monarchy travels faster than light.'"

Hopla scanned the crowd more intently in search of the shooter. Barely visible due to the shadows, a man stepped out from behind the remaining Astos guards and pointed a small laser pistol at Xenia.

Meanwhile, Hierophanus continued: "Therefore, in the presence of Mother Vesta and these witnesses, be it now known that you, Xenia Alethina—"

"Your Majesty, DUCK!" Hopla shouted, tackling Xenia to the ground. And not a moment too soon, as a laser blast shot across the cave, going through the spot where Xenia's head had just been.

Upon hearing the gunfire, the experts and their support staffs fled the cave. Meanwhile, four of Xenia's entourage immediately took defensive positions around Xenia and Hopla.

"Oof…thank you, Hopla," Xenia said as she stood up. She noticed Makhaira heading towards her with his pistol in hand. "Makhaira, did you see the man who fired on me?"

"Of course I did, Your Highness," Makhaira replied, raising his pistol. "Pity that I missed."

Xenia gasped. "Guards! Seize hi—!"

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Caligo interrupted, coming to stand beside Makhaira. "Look again, _Your Highness_: you're surrounded."

Caligo and Makhaira were flanked by Caligo's guards, who all had their weapons trained on Xenia. Worse, four of the royal guard stood alongside the ducal guard, encircling Xenia and her entourage. The Astos bodyguards and Temple guards were all outside of the circle of Caligo's followers.


	21. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

**A/N:** I have made some changes to Chapter 19—mainly near the end—before publishing this chapter, so if the last time you read Chapter 19 was prior to the release of this chapter (June 26, 2016), please go back and reread the last scene of Chapter 19. The events of this chapter will not make much sense otherwise.

_Unnamed Planetoid_

_2 Epombria, 1 Xenia_

"What is the meaning of this?" Xenia exclaimed.

"Isn't it obvious, _Your Highness_?" Caligo sneered. "Those treacherous Astos have no sense of honor! Princess Regent Xenia, on the cusp of officially taking power as_ Queen_ Xenia, and Duke Caligo Prove, leader of the Choron Alliance, off-planet and all together in one place? Why, you just handed them the reins of government on a silver platter!

"Of course, Rutilius is a politician, not a strategist. Hired bodyguards versus three sets of guards? His half-baked scheme fell to pieces, and as your distraught cousin takes the throne in place of the late Princess Xenia, his first priority will be to dismantle the whole treacherous cabal known as the Astos Coalition." Caligo chuckled at his own perceived brilliance.

"I must admit, yesterday's meeting derailed my plans quite significantly. Originally, I had wanted to try marrying you, with a number of … 'accidents' planned for you and your son if that didn't work out. _Nomos sarki_ was just a last-ditch effort to keep you off the throne; I hadn't expected that Spectra would actually have solid proof that Zenoheld was dead. Waiting a year as regent would have been a small price to pay for becoming king in the end—and I wouldn't have had to kill you, either. So in a sense, Spectra did betray you, albeit unwittingly. By keeping the evidence, we now end up off-planet, and you'll soon face your end in space like Zenoheld. I'll be king, and no one on Vestal will be any the wiser."

"As if the people would believe your lies!" Rutilius retorted from behind the duke.

"Why shouldn't they?" Caligo replied, not even turning around to look him in the eye. "It's not as if _you_ will survive to say any different."

"Even if you kill Xenia, Demophilus yet lives," Hierophanus said, "while your only heir is in parts unknown. And as High Archon, I have every right to dispense justice against a regicide."

Caligo shooed away an insect buzzing by his ear. "Both are true. However, it also happened that Rutilius was working in league with Spectra, who was disenchanted with the entire Royal Family. Through his connections as a Vexos, Spectra had a mole among the royal guard, ready to inform his sympathizers when the Vestal government was at its weakest so they could rise up and storm the summer palace."

"No," Xenia gasped.

"How dare you sully Master Spectra's name!" Gus exclaimed.

"Of course, we will arrive in time to oust Spectra's sympathizers before they do too much damage, and I will make sure that Spectra is swiftly brought to justice for the murders of both your husband and your late son." Caligo cackled. "I wonder: at his funeral, should I refer to him as 'Margrave' or 'Prince Demophilus'?"

A rumbling sound shook the cave.

"Is that the _Vestal Destroyer_?" Hopla asked.

"You wish," Caligo said. "That would be the _Siga_, my flagship. I will have to have words with the captain; if he'd flown any closer to the _Destroyer_, the _Siga _would have been identified."

"So that disturbance on the way over…was your flagship?" asked Gus.

"Guilty as charged," Caligo said with a smirk. "I do so apologize for the rumbling flight.

"Guards, make sure that you bring Xenia's body back to the ship relatively intact. I'd like to avoid going through this rigmarole a second time. Do whatever you want with Rutilius." Almost as an afterthought, Caligo added, "Oh—and get rid of Hierophanus as well. Better not to leave any loose ends."

Before any of the guards could react, Caligo dematerialized, teleporting back to the _Siga_.

"Well, Your Highness, do you have any last words?" said one of the ducal guards.

"Huddle around Her Majesty!" Hopla commanded.

Xenia looked past the guards to Spectra, who nodded once. "I do," she said. "Gauntlet, Power Strike!"

There was a brief flash of light.

* * *

After the flash of light waned, Xenia's guards looked at their surroundings. The cave seemed…_off_, somehow, in a way that they couldn't describe. And the ducal guards…

"Why aren't Caligo's guards firing?" one of the guards asked.

Another approached one of Caligo's guards warily. The ducal guard didn't even flinch. "It's like they've been petrified."

"Nothing happened to the guards," came the reply from outside of the circle. Everyone turned towards Spectra, who also managed to avoid whatever afflicted the guards.

"What do you mean, 'nothing happened'? The guards are as still as statues!" the royal guard retorted.

"Nothing happened to the guards," Spectra repeated. "_We're_ the ones who have been affected. Xenia and I just opened a Bakugan battlefield."

"So the rumors that Bakugan battles can stop time—"

"Were true," Spectra said. "Zenoheld may have had his faults, but he wasn't an idiot. But we don't have time to admire the scenery; the effects aren't permanent. Unless a Bakugan brawl is started within ten minutes, this pocket dimension will collapse, and time will resume flowing. I suggest that you find a way to get Her Majesty out of here before then."

"Why not use the _Vestal Destroyer_?" Hopla asked. "Can't she teleport Her Majesty out of here?"

"Unfortunately, the _Destroyer_ is outside of the pocket dimension, so it can't affect us here."

"And Caligo's goons will start shooting once time starts up again," Hopla muttered darkly.

"I have an idea!" said one of the guards. "We can make a ladder for Her Majesty to climb over! She can then climb up and jump over Caligo's guards!"

"Excellent idea," said Xenia. "Guards, follow his lead."

The guard who came up with the idea went on his hands and knees, then gestured for his comrades to follow suit. One by one, each guard went on his hands and knees on the back of the guard under him or her, soon forming a living ladder for Xenia to climb over.

Once Hopla got on top, she said, "Hurry, Your Majesty! Time's running out!"

Xenia carefully climbed on top of the tower of Vestals, soon reaching Hopla's back. Spectra positioned himself on the other side of the ring of ducal and defector guards, ready to catch the queen.

Xenia jumped, causing the tower to collapse under her. She barely missed Spectra, but Spectra corrected his position just in time to break Xenia's fall.

After the two got up, Hopla yelled, "OK, she's safe! Now get out of here!"

* * *

When the flash of light waned, the first thing that Makhaira noticed was that Xenia was no longer in the middle of the circle.

The next thing he noticed was the sound of five of the ducal guards falling down dead, and as he turned his head, he saw Xenia's five guards rushing past the hole that the fallen guards left. Xenia herself was nowhere to be seen.

"What just happened?" Makhaira exclaimed. "Where's Xenia?"

"Why are you in such a rush?" said Rutilius.

"It's not like you can go anywhere," Hopla said.

In the confusion, Rutilius' bodyguards and Xenia's royal guards had formed a line between Caligo's followers and the cavern exit. The Temple guards, armed only with stun batons, stood between Caligo's followers and the remains of King Zenoheld. Hierophanus hid behind Dryoid's fist.

"I don't know what kind of voodoo Xenia managed to do, but it won't do any of _you_ here a lick of good," Makhaira said. "Since the lapdog, the old man, and Rutilius are all unarmed, and since the Temple guards have no firearms, the odds are even: nine on nine. We can handle that."

"Look again, Makhaira," Hopla said. "There's barely any cover, Her Majesty is no longer your hostage, and even though the Temple guards have no firearms, they're yet another obstacle for you to deal with. You're still outnumbered. So I suggest that you just surrender."

"Surrender? Me, Makhaira Nytton, Captain of the Royal Guard, surrender to the likes of you? In your dreams.

"Guards, fi—!"

Makhaira collapsed before he could finish the sentence, having been felled by a stun baton. Immediately afterwards, a ducal guard fired at the brave Temple guardsman, killing him.

After that shot, complete pandemonium broke out.

Xenia's guards rushed at the line of Caligo's followers, wary of firing a shot lest it miss and possibly hit Zenoheld's corpse. Caligo's followers also went in for close-range combat, if only to gain more distance from the Temple guardsmen. For their part, the two remaining Temple guards stayed in place, focused on ensuring that no harm came to Hierophanus or the royal remains.

One of the defector guards had rushed straight for Hopla and threw a jab at her face. Hopla blocked the punch and countered with a jab of her own. The defector then aimed a kick between her legs, sending Hopla doubling over.

"I'm pretty sure _that_ move wasn't taught in Guard training," Hopla wheezed.

"Doesn't matter, _captain_," the defector mocked. But before he could finish her off, a laser blast caught him in the head.

"Need help?" another guard said, this one with a hand extended towards Hopla.

"Thanks, uh…"

"Alexis," came the reply. He then yanked Hopla to the ground; a stinging pain across Hopla's back told her that Alexis had only just managed to save her from yet another shot. After Hopla rolled to her back, she saw a ducal guard fall to the ground with a laser wound to the chest.

"Alexis, duck!" Hopla said. Alexis obeyed immediately, giving Hopla a clear shot at a defector guard who was just about to cold-cock him.

After Hopla stood up, stars swam in Hopla's vision as a punch impacted her right temple. Hopla blindly threw a roundhouse kick, which managed to hit the ducal guard that had punched her. As Hopla regained her bearings, she had only fractions of a second to block a jab from that same guard.

The two exchanged punches, kicks, and the occasional shot, before Hopla finally landed a kick to the solar plexus, which she followed up with a shot to the back of the head, felling the guard.

After she fired one last shot to ensure that her quarry was dead, she noticed that there were no further sounds of a struggle. "Sound off!" she ordered.

"Sgt. Alexis, ma'am!" Alexis replied.

"Dexter Aithalo, ma'am," came another reply. "I'm with Rutilius's bodyguards."

After the Temple guards announced their presence, no other guards replied for a while, friend or foe. Then a groan sounded from the direction of Dryoid's fist.

Hopla turned towards the source of the sound. It was Makhaira, who was flat on his stomach. His hands were behind his back, and Gus was sitting over his hands, preventing him from moving.

"Do any of you have manacles?" Gus asked.

"We do," said one of the Temple guards. "We occasionally have to deal with one unruly person or another disrupting the Temple."

As Makhaira was coming to, the guard handcuffed him and helped him to his feet.

"I knew that you were despicable, but I never thought you would have _this_ in you," said Hopla. "Nor that I would ever have to say this: In the name of Her Majesty, Queen Xenia Alethina Hestia, I hereby place you under arrest for treason, the murder of five Astos bodyguards, and the attempted murder of Queen Xenia."

**A/N:** Special thanks go to Sergio Turbo for his advice and help with the fight scene in this chapter.


	22. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

The _Vestal Destroyer_

_2 Epombria, 1 Xenia_

While Keith, Gus, and the others were on-planet, Baron, Ace, and Mira were on the _Destroyer _keeping an eye out for anything unusual.

However, after a few minutes, Mira decided to pass the time by teaching Baron a puzzle that she picked up on Earth. At first, Baron seemed to get the rules, but before too long…

"A 9 can't go _there_, Baron; there's already a 9 in that same column."

"That's not supposed to be a 9; that's supposed to be a 6!"

"Then there's _still_ a problem; you already put a 6 elsewhere in this box."

"What, that? That's a 2! Argh, these Earth numbers are so confusing!"

Perhaps she should have made _some_ allowances before trying to teach Baron how to play "Single Digit".

Fortunately for Mira, something caught Ace's attention. "Hey Mira, I think you should come and take a look at this."

On the screen was an unfamiliar ship. Unlike the blocky ships commonly made on Vestal, this one had a more streamlined design that reminded Mira of a "stingray" she'd seen on a nature show on Earth. And the ship seemed like it could quickly cut through any medium it flew through like a stingray cut through water. But unlike a stingray, this ship did not have a tail; if not for the wings, the ship would have been ovoid in shape.

"Let's see who we are dealing with," Mira said. "Hail that vessel."

A beep indicated that a channel had been opened. "Unidentified vessel, this is the HMS_ Vestal Destroyer_, of planet Vestal. Please identify yourself and state your intentions."

"HMS _Vestal Destroyer_, this is the HGS _Siga_, flagship of the Duke of Amauros," a familiar voice said over the speakers. The viewscreen came on and showed Duke Prove, who looked more smug than usual. "As for our intentions … I intend to commandeer your vessel. On my authority as the new King of Vestal, I order you to surrender your ship to me."

"Wait, Princess Xenia lost the challenge?" Baron asked, discarding the puzzle.

"I'm afraid that my late cousin lost more than just the _challenge_, young Baron," Caligo replied with a chuckle.

"You monster!" Mira said. "Like we'll ever surrender to you!"

"My, my, is that treason I hear? Guards, transport aboard the Destroyer and arrest those delinquents!"

The Resistance's attention shifted towards the back of the bridge as four of the Ducal Guard teleported aboard. The four guards approached the bridge, pistols drawn.

The younger Vestals slowly raised their hands as if surrendering.

"Ready…and three!" said Mira.

"Gauntlet, Power Strike!" the Resistance members said in unison.

The guards froze in place as the time distortion effect kicked in. But Mira gasped when she heard slow, deliberate applause over the comms.

"Well played." A waning light coming from Caligo's left wrist showed that he, too, had activated a Gauntlet. "But you can't move the _Destroyer_ while time is stopped, and you still have _me_ to deal with."

"You're a brawler, too?" Baron asked.

"Don't look so surprised." Caligo replied. "Bakugan were created to serve Vestals, after all; it's only natural that someone of my standing would have one of his own. Perhaps if your princess had taken an interest in brawling, rather than dismissing it as 'barbaric,' she wouldn't have been such an easy mark."

Baron couldn't help but chuckle, which Caligo didn't miss.

"What's so funny, child? I just told you that Xenia is dead!"

"It's true that Xenia doesn't like brawling as much as most Vestals," said Baron. "But your plan totally relied on her not having a Gauntlet."

"And…?" Caligo said, though the expression on his face revealed that he suspected the answer.

"Xenia suspected that you might try something while we were all off-planet," Mira said. "So my brother suggested that she wear a Gauntlet in case she needed to slip away."

"So she might still be alive." Caligo frowned. "A pity. But it's nothing that blasting this planetoid into dust can't fix. The core is vulnerable, so I won't need an Alternative. And if I'm not mistaken, this pocket dimension has a little more than eight minutes left before collapsing. Even less than that if I get restless."

"What do you mean, less?" said Mira. "Surely the great Duke Prove isn't afraid of a little brawl?"

"No, but under the present circumstances, the setup will be three against one. Rather than face such poor odds, it's better for me to forfeit and let my guards deal with you." Caligo moved as if to terminate the communication.

"Wait! Your Grace!" Mira exclaimed. "If Ace and Baron forfeit, will you brawl with me one-on-one?"

"What's in it for me? And speak quickly; you only have seven minutes."

"The _Destroyer_. Beat me in a brawl, and we'll surrender the _Destroyer_ without a fight."

Baron and Ace both balked at the idea. "The _Destroyer_ isn't even yours to give!" said Baron. "This is Spectra's ship, remember?"

"No, this is _Xenia's_ ship. Keith's just its captain. And if Caligo succeeds, it'll be his ship anyway," Mira said.

"Wise words, girl," Caligo said. "But where will the brawl be held?"

"We have sufficient space aboard the _Destroyer_, Your Grace," said Mira.

"Then we have a deal," said Caligo. "I will transport aboard the _Destroyer_ shortly. But I should warn you in case you're planning on leading me into a trap: those particular guards know how to operate a ship."

* * *

After Caligo transported aboard the _Destroyer_, Mira led him to a battlefield located on one of the ship's lower decks. Ace and Baron followed.

"Impressive facility," Caligo admitted. "I might have to get the _Siga_ outfitted with one. Now, I believe the young men in the room are to excuse themselves?"

Baron glared at the duke. "I forfeit."

Ace grumbled, but afterwards relented. "I forfeit."

A mechanical voice issued from all four Vestals' Gauntlets. "Ace Grit, forfeit. Ace life points: zero.

"Baron Leltoy, forfeit. Baron life points: zero.

"Remaining brawlers: Mira Clay, Caligo Prove."

"Perfect," Caligo said. "Ladies first."

"Why, thank you, Your Grace," Mira said sarcastically. "Gate Card, set!"

"Bakugan, brawl!

"Bakugan, stand! Let's show him what we've got, Wilda!"

As Subterra Magma Wilda reached his full size, he lifted his arms and roared his defiance to the heavens. "Your duplicity ends here, Caligo!"

Subterra Magma Wilda was as rugged as his name suggested. His appearance was as if a Vestaloid had burrowed into a meteorite, burst it open from within, and shaped the resulting pieces into armor. Two sets of horns extended from Wilda's helmet: a red-colored pair rose from the temples, shaped like two columns of fire, and another pair, looking overall like a horseshoe, rose from the cheeks.

"So this is the Bakugan of the leader of the Resistance," Caligo said. "I must admit…it fails to impress. Now behold what a _real _Bakugan looks like! Bakugan, brawl!" Caligo threw a dark-colored sphere into the field.

"Bakugan, stand!

"Rise, Darkus Battle Ax Vladitor!"

Caligo's Bakugan was a sight to behold. He stood half a head taller than the bulky Wilda. The dark-skinned Bakugan was Vestaloid in shape, with four red horns growing from its head. It wore armor reminiscent of an ancient centurion, and it carried a massive, single-bladed axe that was almost as tall as the Bakugan itself. "I am Battle Ax Vladitor, unmatched among Darkus Bakugan! No one shall stand in my master's way!" it declared in a deep, ominous voice.

**_-Brawl Begin-_**

**Subterra Magma Wilda: 600G**

**Darkus Battle Ax Vladitor: 700G**

**Mira Life Force: 500**

**Caligo Life Force: 500**

"Ability acti—" Mira began, only to be interrupted by Caligo:

"Ability activate: Darkus Driver!"

Vladitor began to hover, then flew towards Wilda, spinning like a drill.

_Vladitor G-Power increase to 900G._

"Ladies first, huh?" Mira remarked. "Ability activate: Volcanic Smoke!"

Grey smoke billowed out from craters all over Wilda's body. A loud slam from behind Mira indicated that the smoke did its job.

_Vladitor G-Power decrease to 500G. Wilda G-Power increase to 800G._

As the smoke cleared, Vladitor ran back toward the arena, axe raised.

"Ability activate: Darkus Thunder!"

Purple-tinted electric bolts crackled at the head of Vladitor's axe. With a roar, Vladitor lowered the axe and fired the pent-up electricity at Wilda, who was pushed back by the shock.

_Wilda G-Power decrease to 600G. Vladitor G-Power increase to 800G._

"Gate card, open!" said Mira. "Power Pressure!"

The ground under the two Bakugan began to glow, and Vladitor began to sink into the ground.

"What kind of trickery is this, Mira?" Caligo demanded.

"No trickery, Your Grace," Mira replied. "Power Pressure is a Gate Card that stops any Bakugan with a power level over 400G from activating any more abilities. In other words, Vladitor is stuck.

"Wilda, ability activate: Ares Ball!"

Wilda raised his hands and concentrated a ball of Subterra energy above his head.

_Wilda G-Power increase to 1000G._

With a loud cry, he then tossed the energy ball at the immobilized Vladitor.

"Master!" Vladitor cried as the ball of energy burned him and forced him back to ball form.

**Subterra Magma Wilda: 1000G**

**Darkus Battle Ax Vladitor: 800G**

**Mira Life Force: 500**

**Caligo Life Force: 300**

"So, this is how Spectra's sister fights," said Caligo. "I admit, I underestimated your Bakugan. But no longer.

"Gate Card, set!

"Bakugan, brawl!

"Stand, Vladitor!"

"Stand, Wilda!" Mira said, throwing her Bakugan onto the field.

**Subterra Magma Wilda: 600G**

**Darkus Battle Ax Vladitor: 700G**

**Mira Life Force: 500**

**Caligo Life Force: 300**

"Vladitor, ability activate: Night Explorer!"

A dark purple aura appeared around Vladitor. With almost no warning, Vladitor rushed towards Wilda, tackling the Subterra Bakugan to the ground.

_Wilda G-Power decrease to 300G._

"Wilda!" Mira cried out.

"I'm all right, Mira," Wilda replied.

"What a relief. Ability activate: Bygrock!"

Wilda sat up and pointed his shoulders at Vladitor. At Mira's command, red-hot magma shot out from the craters on Wilda's pauldrons, driving Vladitor back.

_Wilda G-Power increase to 700G._

"You're not getting away this time!" Caligo said. "Ability activate: Thousand Destroyer!"

Vladitor raised his axe, which then glowed with a red-purple aura. With a mighty yell, Vladitor swung his axe to deliver a helm-splitting blow.

_Vladitor G-Power increase to 900G._

"Ability activate: Atlas Shield!"

Wilda got to his feet and punched the ground, summoning a wall of magma that hardened just in time to intercept the axe. A massive BOOM shook the arena as axe met rock, but the rock stood firm.

_Wilda G-Power increase to 1000G._

"Do you think that a slab of stone can stop me?" Vladitor roared. "Take this!" Vladitor swung his axe again, but though cracks began to appear, the shield itself stood firm.

BOOM. "Yield!" Vladitor demanded.

"Never!" Wilda cried back.

BOOM. "Yield!"

Wilda remained adamant, summoning more magma to fill the cracks.

BOOM. "Yield!"

The Atlas Shield stayed standing, unyielding to the Thousand Destroyer.

BOOM. "Yield!"

"Not … a … chance!" said Wilda, straining with the continued effort. "I will _not_ let Mira down!"

"Never say never, Bakugan," said Caligo. "Gate card, open! Element Merge!"

A silver Gate Card revealed itself underneath the two Bakugan's feet and started to glow.

_200G transfer from Wilda to Vladitor. Wilda G-Power 800G. Vladitor G-Power 1100G._

"Take this!" Vladitor cried, swinging his axe one more time.

The Atlas Shield broke under the assault with a loud _CRACK!_

**Subterra Magma Wilda: 800G**

**Darkus Battle Ax Vladitor: 1100G**

**Mira Life Force: 200**

**Caligo Life Force: 300**

Caligo chuckled at the sight of Mira visibly panting as she rose to her feet; the force of Vladitor's last attack had knocked her onto her back.

"What's the matter, Mira?" Caligo taunted, fake concern evident in his tone. "Surprised that you lost the lead so easily?"

"Don't patronize me, Caligo," Mira replied.

"Whatever," Caligo scoffed. "Throw down your Gate Card and face your end like a true Vestal."

Mira glared at the duke, but otherwise paid him no further heed. "Gate Card, set.

"Bakugan, brawl! Let's show him your true power, Wilda!"

"Vladitor, let's win us a ship," said Caligo. "Bakugan, brawl!"

As the two Bakugan landed on the Gate Card, Caligo and Mira said, in unison, "Bakugan, stand!"

**Subterra Magma Wilda: 600G**

**Darkus Battle Ax Vladitor: 700G**

**Mira Life Force: 200**

**Caligo Life Force: 300**

"Ability activate: Thousand Destroyer!" Caligo commanded.

_Vladitor G-Power increase to 900G._

Once again, Vladitor's axe glowed menacingly. Vladitor swung the axe down —

"Double ability, activate! Atlas Shield, plus Bygrock!"

_Wilda G-Power increase to 900G. Wilda G-Power increase to 1300G._

—only for the axe to bounce off of the Atlas Shield. Furthermore, the barrage of falling magma coming from behind the shield began to singe Vladitor's armor, forcing the Darkus Bakugan to give up any prospect of pressing the attack like before.

"I forbid you from hiding behind that wall, child!" Caligo exclaimed. "Ability activate: Night Explorer!"

Cloaked in Darkus energy once again, Vladitor lowered his shoulder and rammed into the Atlas Shield, knocking it down.

_Wilda G-Power decrease to 1000G._

Mira, however, was unfazed. "Ability activate: Land Twister!"

Wilda punched the ground. From where his fist landed, tendrils of tar snaked toward Vladitor, ensnaring the Darkus Bakugan where he stood.

_Wilda G-Power increase to 1300G._

"Don't you dare think that you've won, child!" said Caligo. "Ability, activate: Misty Shadow!"

In front of Mira's eyes, Vladitor split into a cloud of bats and escaped from the tar.

_Wilda G-Power reverting to 600 G._

After the tar solidified, Vladitor re-formed and returned to the ground, only to find it glowing a moment after:

"Gate card, open: Land Pressure!"

Vladitor visibly struggled to stay upright. As the increased gravity continued to pull down on the Darkus Bakugan, he was forced down on his knees, resorting to using his axe to keep himself from being pulled flat onto the ground.

_Vladitor G-Power decrease to 700G._

"_Another_ one of those accursed Pressure cards?!" Caligo spat.

"Of course. And from your reaction, you have no more escapes up your sleeves. Too bad for you.

"Ability, activate: Hyper Earth Ball!"

Wilda raised its hands and concentrated a ball of Subterra energy above his head. Unlike the last attack, however, a brown aura appeared around Vladitor, then wafted towards the ball of energy gathering over Wilda's head.

_500G transfer from Vladitor to Wilda. Wilda G-Power 1100G. Vladitor G-Power 400G._

When Wilda finished collecting energy, he threw the ball at the still-struggling Vladitor with a cry of "Take this!"

The attack consumed Vladitor, who had just enough time to let out a pained "_NO!_" before reverting to ball form and flying to Mira's hand.

**Subterra Magma Wilda: 600G**

**Darkus Battle Ax Vladitor: 200G**

**Mira Life Force: 200**

**Caligo Life Force: 0**

**_-Winner: Mira Clay-_**

After the Gauntlets announced Mira the winner, Wilda returned to ball form, and the flow of time returned to normal.

"Well, Your Grace, you've lost both the brawl and your Bakugan. Now take your guards back to the _Siga_."

"And why would I do that?" Caligo said. "You promised to hand over the _Destroyer_ if I won, but did _I_ promise to do anything if I _lost_?"

Baron and Ace, who had been standing behind Mira, shifted their stances, as if ready to tackle the duke at a moment's notice. All the while, Caligo slowly shuffled towards the door.

"Not to worry, though. I _will_ take my guards with me…" Caligo slowly inched towards the intercom located near the entrance to the room. "…after they ram this sorry excuse for a ship into the core of that planetoid!" He sprinted the rest of the distance and slammed the intercom's button. "Prove to bridge, do you copy?"

"Sorry to disappoint, _Mister_ Prove, but your guards are currently out of commission."

Baron and Ace, who were running towards the duke, stopped at the voice.

Caligo was taken aback. "Xenia?!"

"That would be _Queen_ Xenia to you, cousin," Xenia replied.

"But how? There were four of them!"

"And two of us," said another voice over the intercom.

"Keith!" Mira said jubilantly.

"You of all people should know not to underestimate the element of surprise, Caligo," Keith said. "Your guards were so busy acclimating themselves to the ship that they forgot to monitor the transport pad. There's an Earthling saying that fits here: 'Don't count your chickens before they hatch.'"

"I have even more guards where those came from," Caligo said, inputting a code into his Gauntlet to teleport back to the _Siga_. "You haven't heard the last of me!"

"Actually, we have," said Keith.

Caligo finished inputting the code, but was shocked to see that nothing was happening. He tried inputting the code again, but still to no avail. "Spectra!" he roared. "Why am I not transporting back? What kind of trickery is this?"

"I've set up a jamming signal over the _Destroyer_," Keith replied. "You're not going anywhere."

"It's over, Caligo." Xenia said. "You lost."

* * *

After Caligo found himself unable to leave, Mira, Ace, and Baron restrained the older Vestal and took his Gauntlet. At the point of Mira's energy blade, the duke was frog-marched to one of the guest quarters, which was locked behind him. A communications channel was opened with the _Siga_, whose officers surrendered when they saw the detained Caligo.

Afterwards, the remaining Vestals on the planetoid came aboard, and Zenoheld's remains were loaded onto the _Vestal Destroyer_. Keith, Gus, and the remaining royal guards then went aboard the _Siga_, while Mira was left on the _Destroyer _to pilot it to Vestal.

"Congratulations, Your Majesty," Mira said once the _Destroyer_ entered the wormhole, the _Siga_ following close behind.

Xenia, however, had a concerned look on her face. "Don't congratulate me yet."

"Your Majesty?"

"Unless and until I see my son safe and sound, this isn't over. I won't celebrate my succession only to bury my son the same day."

"I don't think you need to worry, Your Majesty. He should be safe in the palace."

"But if my own guards could turn against me _here_, then with whom have I left Demophilus?" Xenia sighed. "Just pray that we are not too late."

When the _Destroyer_ arrived within Vestal airspace, the _Destroyer _received a hail from the planet. Mira opened a channel.

Xenia's eyes filled with tears when she saw who was on screen. His hair was frazzled, and his face was slick with sweat, but on screen—very much alive—was Demophilus. The communications room was relatively intact, but behind him, the far wall past the doorway was pockmarked with scorch marks from laser fire.

"_Vestal Destroyer_? Thank the Goddess you're safe," Demophilus said. "I was worried that Caligo might have sprung some trap while you were off-planet."

"I could say the same about you," said Xenia. "What happened?"

"Caligo tried to have me killed. Mother, he has—"

"—sympathizers within the Royal Guard. I know," Xenia interrupted. "What happened?"

"I'll tell you all the details when you arrive. But the long and short of it is: Thank Vesta for well-connected friends with good timing."

"And that sounds like my cue." Another person—a human—came into view. He was slightly shorter than Demophilus, with long grayish-blue hair and green eyes. He wore a gray dress shirt with a purple shoulder piece and upright collar. A while cravat completed the ensemble.

The human was Klaus von Hertzon, formerly Earth's foremost Aquos brawler (a position now occupied by Marucho), and currently a rising star in Vestal's financial world. Klaus Industries combined Earthling ingenuity with Vestal technology, with unprecedented results. His newest initiative, the Aqua-Aero Estates—a series of floating islands with affordable residences—became an instant hit on overcrowded Vestal.

"Well, isn't this a sight for sore eyes. Pleased to see you again, Mira," Klaus said.

Ace quickly moved to Mira's side. "Klaus."

"Ace," Klaus acknowledged.

"What are _you _doing in the palace, Klaus?" Baron asked.

"Lord Demophilus happens to be a good friend of mine," said Klaus. "And I just happened to be in the palace when Caligo's forces made their move."

"Then you have my gratitude, Mr. von Hertzon," said Xenia.

"No thanks needed, Your Highness," Klaus replied. "I was only doing what I can."

"Nonsense," said Xenia. "From what I can gather, Demophilus needed all the friends he could get, and I'm glad that I could count you as one of them. Be sure that this will not be forgotten.

"And one other thing. It's 'Your Majesty' now, not 'Your Highness.'"

Klaus' eyes widened. "Well, congratulations. I am, of course, at your service, Your Majesty."

**A/N:** If anyone is curious as to what happened with Demophilus and Klaus, a side-story is in the works.

As for this story, however, the next chapter will bring the focus back to Volt and his adventures in Kanto.

In additional news, I have commissioned some artwork of Xenia and Demophilus from Skyrawathi on DeviantArt. Links to the pictures will be on my profile. Artwork of Volt and his Pokémon will be coming soon, so keep an eye out for that as well.


End file.
